Huge military aircraft to operate from nearby airport during work at RAF base

The fleet includes an aircraft that is used by the Prime Minister and the royal family

Huge military aircraft will temporarily operate from an airport near Cambridgeshire during improvement work at RAF Brize Norton. The A330 Voyager fleet are normally located at the base in Oxfordshire but will be moved elsewhere for several months.

The fleet includes an aircraft that bears the Union Jack and is used by the Prime Minister and members of the royal family. The A330 Voyager fleet will operate from Prestwick, East Midlands, and Stansted airports between July and November.

Voyager is a military version of the Airbus A330 Airliner. The Ministry of Defence (MOD) say it is designed as a dual role air-to-air refuelling and air transport aircraft.

Voyager is being moved alongside the Atlas and Globemaster fleets while essential resurfacing and improvement works are done on the airfield operating surface at RAF Brize Norton. The RAF say it is a planned programme of modernisation work designed to ensure the base remains fully operational and fit for the decades to come.

The RAF say there is no cause for public concern and that the UK’s military air mobility capability is not diminished by the works. The Atlas and Globemaster fleets will operate primarily out of MoD Boscombe Down with occasional use of Bournemouth Airport.

All aircraft that are normally located at RAF Brize Norton will begin moving to their temporary alternative locations in July. Once the resurfacing work has been completed the aircraft are expected to return in late November.