A group of four helicopters have been spotted circling London landmarks with thousands tracking them online
William Morgan Reporter and Chris Ballinger
23:59, 03 Jul 2025
The four helicopters hovering over the Isle of Dogs (Image: MyLondon)
Londoners’ curiosity has been piqued as a group of four helicopters, including one privately-owned aircraft registered as G-RYFF, have been spotted circling the city.
Taking to the skies from Biggin Hill Airport at 1q.14 am on Thursday, July 3, the four helicopters followed the River Thames and performed multiple loops around Central London, particularly around Greenwich Park, the City of London, and the Isle of Dogs, leaving onlookers fascinated.
More than 2,000 people tracked G-RYFF’s flight path on FlightRadar24, which was spotted heading over New Addington in Croydon, possibly en route back to Biggin Hill, reports MyLondon.
One social media user posed the question, “Why are there so many helicopters over Isle of Dogs/ Cutty Sark? Update: They have all just left and are heading towards central London.”
One of the helicopters has previously been used in major film and TV productions(Image: Lucy Williamson)
Online speculation suggests the helicopters might be part of a film or TV production, given that G-RYFF has been previously featured in The Gentlemen on Netflix, a James Bond film, and an episode of Clarkson’s Farm.
This helicopter has become well-known amongst film and TV buffs, with one telling Reddit: “I was watching Gentlemen, by Guy Ritchie on Netflix and the character played by Giancarlo Esposito owns an Augusta registration G-RYFF.
“The next day I’m watching 3 Body Problem and Mr. Evans, played by Jonathan Pryce owns the same helicopter.
Breaking Bad star Giancarlo Esposito in The Gentlemen (Image: Netflix)
Armchair aviation experts pointed out that the helicopter is operated by a firm called Castle Air, which they called “a big name in private aircraft operation in the UK.”
G-RYFF is a twin-engine Agusta A109S Grand helicopter often used for VIP transport.
Something it is frequently depicted doing on-screen in Guy Ritchie’s upper-class gangster thriller The Gentlemen, where it transports Esposito’s billionaire character to give a drug-manufacturing aristocrat an offer he can’t refuse.
Bandersnatch is an interactive Black Mirror episode(Image: NETFLIX)
Interestingly, the company that owns the actual aircraft is Bandersnatch Ltd Partnership Inc. ‘Bandersnatch’ is the title of a well-known episode of Netflix-produced Black Mirror.
Furthermore, two of the helicopters have been spotted with ball cameras, filming the other two aircraft, adding fuel to the theory that they are involved in some sort of filming project.
To back up the claim, one user on social media replied to a query about the helicopters, stating: “There is film work at Greenwich pier today so probably that.”