Rejected petition: Establish a national fixed-wing aerial wildfire firefighting capability
Rejected on
We want the Government to assess and establish a national aerial wildfire firefighting capability, including fixed-wing waterbombers. Recent UK wildfires demonstrate the growing threat. A rapid national air response could help contain fires, protect communities and reduce damage.
Countries including Canada and Italy routinely deploy fixed-wing waterbombers alongside firefighters and helicopters. Canada is currently expanding its national aerial firefighting fleet in response to increasing wildfire risk. The UK has no equivalent national capability, relying largely on locally arranged aircraft. With record wildfire levels and recent major fires in the New Forest and Midlands, now is the time to assess whether a similar capability would improve UK resilience.
Why was this petition rejected?
There’s already a petition about this issue. We cannot accept a new petition when we already have one about a very similar issue.
You are more likely to get action on this issue if you sign and share a single petition.
You may wish to sign this petition, which calls for similar action: "Strengthen wildfire response - funding for dedicated firefighting aircraft" https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/777880
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.