King Charles III's Royal Jet Which Costs The UK Ksh84.3B Every Year

During their visit, they attended several high-profile events, including a glittering state banquet at State House, Nairobi and a visit to a naval base in Mombasa.

The Royal couple arrived at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) in Nairobi and left the country via Moi International Airport (MIA) in Mombasa. To even get to the country though, the royal couple used the British government's VIP aircraft commonly known as "RAF Voyager".

Viral Tea takes a look at the features of the Royal Jet the King and Queen used to travel to Kenya:

RAF Voyager Features

The Royal Air Force VIP Voyager, identified with the military registration of ZZ336, and more recently named by the Royal Air Force (RAF) as Vespina since June 2020, refers to a customised RAF Voyager KC2 owned by the AirTanker Services and operated under lease by the Royal Air Force.

Kenya Navy soldiers during a guard of honour at Moi International Airport on November 3, 2023. /PCS

Compared to Kenya where the presidential jet is only reserved for official head-of-state travel, the RAF Voyager is the first principal VIP transport aeroplane for the British royal family, the Prime Minister, and British government ministers.

The plane is fitted with a secure satellite communications system, missile detection, 58 business-class seats (front cabin), 100 standard seats (rear cabin), and media facilities, similar to other dedicated air transports of heads of state and government.

The aircraft has a length of 59 meters, a height of 17.89 meters and a wingspan of 60.3 meters and has been in use 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.

Other than VIP travel, the jet also serves as a military aircraft designed to perform roles including air-to-air refuelling of other military aircraft as well as trooping flights.

RAF Voyager Makeover

For more than three years, the plane, also called the RAF Voyager, was painted in grey military colours.  However, the RAF jet underwent a makeover and was painted with the colour white and UK’s flag colours.

Historically, only the Royal Family had dedicated aircraft; government ministers would fly on commercial flights, rented private jets, or occasionally RAF-operated flights. However, proposals were first made in 1998 to have a new dedicated VIP transport aircraft, for governmental or royal use.

In March 2009 a proposal for a Ksh1.3 billion (£7 million) 12-seater private jet was halted by recession. In November 2015, it was announced the government would fit VIP seating to one of the nine core fleets of RAF Airbus Voyager tanker/transport aircraft for the use of senior government officials and members of the Royal Family.

The Voyager refit set the government back £10 million (Ksh1.9 billion), and the government estimated the use of the aircraft would save £775,000 (Ksh145.04 million) a year versus the cost of charter flights; the new arrangement was expected to cost around £2,000 (Ksh374,310) per flying hour as opposed to £6,700 (Ksh1.3 million) for long-haul charter.

RAF Voyager refuelling two military jets mid-air. /TELEGRAPH UK

The aircraft, the RAF VIP Voyager, retained the standard Royal Air Force grey livery and continued its primary military duties when not in use by the government. Its first use as a VIP transport was on July 8, 2016, when it was used to take government ministers from London Heathrow Airport to the 2016 NATO conference in Warsaw, Poland.

In 2018, the then Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson, criticised the arrangements, protesting that the Voyager "never seems to be available".

He also remarked that the aircraft's "drab grey colours undermined Britain's reputation when the country needed a powerful 'flagship'" and suggested that the provision of a dedicated government aircraft would be desirable '"if there's a way of doing it that is not exorbitantly expensive".

In June 2020, the aircraft was repainted in white with gold lettering with the Union Jack on its tail fin at £900,000 (Ksh168.4 million), a makeover 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.

Maintenance

A past report by the UK Defence Journal revealed that the annual cost of the RAF Voyager service, including military personnel costs, is around £450 million (Ksh84.3 billion) for the delivery of 18,000 flying hours.

The UK pays this amount to the Air Tanker consortium for the Voyager service, which is owned by a consortium of Airbus, Rolls-Royce plc, Cobham plc, Babcock International, and Thales Group.

In 2021, the RAF Voyager’s engine was converted to see it use green jet fuel known as Sustainable Aviation Fuel, a departure from the traditional one designed to use 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.