British Antarctic Survey has two types of aircraft in its fleet - the Dash 7 and Twin Otter. Both are well suited to operations in Antarctica due to their short take-off and landing characteristics.

The Dash 7 and two of the Twin Otters, VP-FBL and VP-FAZ, are sometimes used for scientific research work. The latter aircraft is pictured with a probe above the cockpit, which measures temperature, humidity, air pressure, turbulence and cloud data. Both Twin Otters can also befitted with a survey camera for mapping or counting the populations of local wildlife, such as seals.

A glaciologist uses a pole-mounted GPS antenna to survey the flow of the ice sheet. This piece of equipment will be left in position and revisited after a year, which will enable the speed the ice is travelling to be determined. BAS aircraft can visit over 100 locations in Antarctica during a summer season in support of scientific projects.

Twin Otter VP-FBL has magnetometer pods on the wingtips for measuring the Earth's magnetic field. The antennae on the wings are for an ice-penetrating radar that is used to reveal features under the ice as well as its different layers. The aircraft can also carry gravimeters for gauging gravity.

A photograph of the BAS Dash 7 touching down on the blue-ice runway at Sky-Blu. This location is used as a hub with this aircraft taking in supplies and personnel, which are then transported to research sites by Twin Otters. The flags are used to mark out the landing strip. Brakes are useless for stopping an aircraft on ice, so reverse thrust is selected on the engines instead.

Flights from Punta Arenas in Chile and Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands to Rothera are flown by the Dash 7, which is a combi aircraft that can carry a mixture of freight and passengers if needs be.