Members of the United Kingdom’s Royal Family including King Charles III, are without doubt some of the most prominent and heavily guarded persons in the world.
Traditionally VVIPs around the world are known to have sophisticated means of transport designed to give them comfort and security. The King of the United Kingdom is no exception.
This article delves into the history and some of the known features of the Royal jet often used by members of the Royal Family and senior UK officials.
The UK Royal family has over the years used several planes for their transport including an Airbus Voyager which is mostly used for long-distance trips.
Interestingly, the mode of transport used by the Royal family depends on several factors including the nature of the expedition and public opinion.
Unlike in countries such as the United States where the President has a plane dedicated for his traveling, the King and the Queen’s mode of transport is not consistent.
Royal Airforce Voyager King Charles Used on his Trip to Kenya
Ahead of his four-day tour of Kenya on Monday, October 31, King Charles and Queen Camilla arrived in a Royal Air Force VIP jet at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The jet with tail number zz336, which is also used by other UK senior government officials including the Prime Minister, is a modified Airbus A330.
Also, the aircraft has a length of 59 meters, a height of 17.89 meters and a wingspan of 60.3 meters.
The Airbus A330 model has been used since 2016 when it was introduced as an alternative to the formerly used private jets in a move aimed at saving taxpayers from the perennial burden of hiring jets.
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At the time, the RAF Voyager was fitted with 58 business seats to facilitate the transport of UK’s VVIPs and their delegations while traveling for various missions.
Besides transporting key officials such as the King, Queen and Prime Minister, the aircraft is also designed to perform roles including air to air refueling.
Controversy Over Makeover
For more than three years, the plane, also called the RAF Voyager, was painted in the gray military colors.
However, the RAF jet underwent a makeover and was painted with the color white and UK’s flag colors.
Currently, the RAF jet is dominated by the color white and has shades of the UK Union Jack on its tail after a makeover process that cost the UK government over Ksh 160 million (1 million Pounds).
The move proposed by former Prime Minister Borris Johnson was meant to promote the UK globally.
He argued that the presence of the Kingdom’s flag colors on the Royal aircraft would help to sell the UK brand globally as opposed to the dull military color.
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Nonetheless, this makeover was marred with controversies with a section of UK’s opposition party- Labour Party- members questioning the need to spend millions on just repainting the jet.
But this was not the only instance that the royal jet sparked debate in the UK.
In 2021, the RAF Voyager’s engine was converted to see it use green jet fuel known as the Sustainable Aviation Fuel, a departure from the traditional one designed to use the normal jet fuel.
The move came after pressure from various quarters questioning why senior officials and members of the Royal Family continued to use the traditional jet fuel known to emit high amounts of carbon.
