VIP RAF Voyager


The VIP RAF Voyager, also known as the "Vespina" and with a military registration of ZZ336, refers to a customised Airbus A330 MRTT owned and operated by the Royal Air Force that is the first principle VIP transport plane for British government ministers and the British royal family.[1] While the RAF operates a fleet of Voyagers, the VIP RAF Voyager refers specifically to one painted in a United Kingdom livery and fitted with business class seats and media facilities, similar to other dedicated air transports of heads of state and government.

VIP RAF Voyager
The Royal Air Force's VIP Airbus A330 (RAF Voyager) landing at RAF Brize Norton
Other name(s) Vespina
Type Airbus A330 MRTT
Serial ZZ336
First flight 8 July 2016
(after conversion)
Owners and operators Royal Air Force

Proposals to provide a new dedicated VIP transport aircraft, for governmental or royal use, were first mooted in 1998.[2] In March 2009 a proposal for a £7 million 12-seater private jet plans were halted by recession.[3] It was not until the end of 2015 that the British Government announced that one VIP RAF Voyager will be converted from a normal RAF Voyager; this was completed in 2016 at a cost of £10 million, with then-Prime Minister David Cameron took the plane to the 2016 Warsaw summit.[4] In June 2020, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered that the plane be painted in a United Kingdom-themed red, white, and blue livery, during regular maintenance which included the repaint. It was widely reported that the repaint cost £900,000 but that was the entire cost of the maintenance, not solely the repaint.

Despite having been fitted as a VIP aircraft since 2016, and having a custom livery since 2020, the British Government and the RAF has insisted that the plane will continue to serve its military purpose of mid-air refueling and personnel transport.[5]

See also

References
  1. "VIP RAF Voyager Ready For Global Role". RAF. 25 June 2020.
  2. "Blair flies into trouble". BBC News. 3 August 1998.
  3. Alastair Jamieson (28 March 2009). "Queen has £7m private jet plans halted by recession". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 31 March 2009. Retrieved 30 March 2010.
  4. "David Cameron to take first flight on converted VIP RAF Voyager". BBC. 5 July 2016.
  5. "RAF Voyager: Prime Minister's VIP plane acts as 'petrol station in the sky' for Lightning and Typhoon fighters". Gloucestershire Live. 26 June 2020.
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