The club scooped the Best Club 2025 award in recognition of its progress in adventurous training and diving delivery over the past year.

The award reflects the persistent work and dedication of the club’s instructors, committee members, and divers.

The club scooped the Best Club 2025 award (Image: MOD Crown Copyright)

The AGM also saw individual recognition for personnel from the club.

The Paul Goodwin Award for RAF Scuba Diver of the Year went to one of the club members, Air Specialist 1 (T) Blair, acknowledging their exceptional commitment and contribution to the RAF scuba community.

Showcasing the club’s creativity, the Videography Award was secured by the club for their high-quality media productions.

The winning entry was presented to Mr Phil Blake of Airtanker and captured the professionalism, teamwork and unique opportunities RAF Scuba continues to provide.

The Paul Goodwin Award for RAF Scuba Diver of the Year went to one of the club members, Air Specialist 1 (T) Blair (Image: MOD Crown Copyright)

The success underscores the positive impact of adventurous training in personnel development, building teamwork and resilience.

With approximately 5,800 service personnel, 300 civilian staff, and 1,200 contractors, RAF Brize Norton is the largest RAF Station.

RAF Brize Norton Sub Aqua Club also won the Videography Award (Image: MOD Crown Copyright)

Located in Oxfordshire, the station is home to the RAF’s Air Mobility Force, Air-to-Air Refuelling forces, and hosts several lodger and reserve units.

With a mixed fleet of aircraft, the station provides rapid global mobility.

RAF Brize Norton supports UK overseas operations and exercises, as well as Air-to-Air Refuelling support for fast jet aircraft, both on operations and in support of UK Homeland Defence.

Aeralis was banking on winning a UK Government contract to replace the Hawk jets currently flown by the RAF’s Red Arrows, which are set to retire in 2030.

The company had pitched itself as the only British firm capable of supplying a UK-designed and built advanced jet trainer.

However, around 30 jobs have now been lost after the company entered administration following a period of financial difficulty.

Joanne Milner, representing administrators Buchler Phillips, said: “Aeralis has developed a highly differentiated proposition within the aerospace and defence sector.

“We hope that the administration process will provide an opportunity to explore routes to preserve and develop that value for stakeholders.”

Aeralis chairman Robin Southwell said the decision to go into administration had been taken after “careful consideration of the company’s position and the funding challenges it has faced over recent months”.

“We will continue to support the joint administrators as they explore viable, sustainable options for the future of the business and engage with interested parties,” he added.

Why did Aeralis fall into administration?

BBC News reports that Aeralis’ main investor, Barzan Holdings, the strategic investment and procurement arm of Qatar’s Ministry of Defence, withdrew its funding amid the US-Israeli war with Iran.

Administrators shared the company had faced “a sustained period of pressure” on its cashflow after “continued delays to the UK Defence Investment Plan, combined with geopolitical factors affecting sources of funding”.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) confirmed that the jet trainer procurement process is still underway.

An MoD spokesperson said: “The fast jet trainer programme is ongoing and no final procurement decisions have been made.

“More broadly, this government is backing British jobs, British industry, and British innovators – since July 2024, we have signed 1,200 major contracts, with 93% of the spend going to UK-based companies.”

Aeralis estimated that its programme could have created 4,000 new jobs in the UK and generated £600 million in annual exports.

However, the design remained digital-only, pending government support to move into production.

The company had planned for parts of the jet to be designed and manufactured at sites across the UK, with final assembly at Prestwick International Airport in Ayrshire, Scotland.

Last year’s Strategic Defence Review recommended that the RAF’s ageing Hawk jets be replaced with a “cost-effective, advanced trainer jet,” and advised that MoD procurement should benefit UK businesses.

In an interview prior to the company’s collapse, Mr Southwell urged the government to provide direction to help unlock industry growth.

Other contenders believed to be in the running to supply the next trainer aircraft include BAE Systems and Leonardo.

Aeralis had also explored producing jets in France but had prioritised a UK-based model focused on jobs and exports.

Earlier in May, the country’s tourism minister, Olga Kefalogianni, said the Greek government did not want visitors to be “burdened” by bureaucratic procedures when entering or leaving the country.

She confirmed at the time that British visitors would not face biometric checks at the border at any time during the summer season.

However, European and Greek authorities have now clarified that suspension of the system is permitted only during periods of high passenger traffic at specific entry points and does not apply to any country or nationality.

In response to a question from The Associated Press on Thursday (May 14), the Foreign Ministry said: “We have not received any further update or clarification as to whether, for example, specific nationalities are temporarily exempt from the relevant procedure.”

This won’t just affect Brits, but any non-EU (European Union) nationals who have to go through the biometric scanners.

Greece insists it has “successfully started the full operation of the Entry-Exit System”.

However, in practice, it suspended biometric checks on UK visitors in early April after long queues built up at Corfu airport.

Private tour operators fear additional airport checks could discourage travel from the UK to the EU, and widen the disparity with EU citizens, who can move within the bloc without passport checks

What are the new EU entry/exit system rules?

BBC News reports that back in April, the EU completed the introduction of its controversial new digital border procedure, known as the “entry-exit system”, or EES.

It requires short-term visitors from outside the EU and the European Economic Area to register biometric data each time they enter or leave the Schengen free travel zone.

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The first time they cross the border, this is meant to include fingerprints and a facial scan, with one of those being checked each time they go through passport control.

Although the system is working well in some parts of the EU, there have been serious difficulties in others, with some passengers experiencing queues of up to three hours.

Have you experienced long delays travelling to Europe due to biometric checks? Let us know in the comments.