Air transport of the British royal family and government is provided, depending on the circumstances and availability, by a variety of military and civilian operators. Civil aircraft and scheduled commercial flights are also utilised. The first aircraft ordered specifically for transport of the royal family, two Westland Wapitis , were delivered to No.
Although the Royal Air Force maintained at least one of these aircraft for a time, the Prince of Wales eventually became solely responsible for the aircraft. In May , an AS. The King's Flight Envoy had seats for four passengers plus a pilot, wireless operator, and steward. When Nevil Shute Norway of Airspeed queried the need for a steward on flights of up to two or three hours, he was told by the Captain of the Flight, Wing Commander Fielden "of the fatigue that royal personages must endure In , The King's Flight was disbanded and its responsibilities transferred to No.
That occasion was also the first visit by a Concorde aircraft to Barbados. In , one of these BAe s was sold as surplus. The responsibility for the royal family's travel was transferred to the Royal Household on 1 April The funding comes in the form of a royal travel grant-in-aid provided by the Department for Transport.
Later in , the Royal Yacht Britannia was retired and not replaced, and the Royal Household was given authorisation to acquire a helicopter for its private use. The Royal Helicopter and the Royal Train are insufficient to meet all the travel requirements of the Royal Family, even for domestic travel. The King does not travel on scheduled flights, but other members of the Royal Family do so whenever possible. Members of the Royal Family are normally flown on private charters, either large fixed-wing aircraft, small fixed-wing aircraft, or helicopters, depending on the distance and the size of the official party.
The squadron merger ended the RAF's provision of dedicated VIP transport aircraft; the aircraft of 32 Squadron are only available to VIP passengers if not needed for military operations. This was declared officially in Operated for The Queen's Flight since , two of these aircraft remained available to No.
