support british military operations around the globe, it's surprisingly busy with frequent landings, departures and training manoeuvres. a lot of what happens in a military airport like this is very different from a commercial airport but some things are the same. air traffic control is the hub of all activity and that is where sarah is now. i'm here with simon, who is in charge of all air traffic control here and tell me, why is it so important brize norton stays open all year round? it is home to the raf strategic and tactical air transport fleet. we're also the gateway to operations across the world. that's to say delivering, whether it's troops, cargo or disaster relief, as we saw at the end of 2017 in the caribbean. meteorology and aviation will always be intrinsically linked, so how do you get your weather information here? we're very lucky insofar as we have our own met office,