AirTanker Services

In March 2008, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) signed the finalised Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) contract with AirTanker Holdings Limited (ATH) (the legal owner of the aircraft) to provide the Royal Air Force (RAF) with an air transport and air-to-air refuelling capability. Prior to the delivery of the aircraft to the Royal Air Force, new facilities were constructed RAF Brize Nortonin Oxfordshire, the RAF's largest airbase. Known as AirTanker Hub, these facilities are owned by industry, and act as headquarters and registered office for both ATH and ATS, and contain all support services for operation and maintenance of the AirTanker fleet. In accordance with the dual military and civilian roles, all fourteen aircraft in the fleet must be able to switch between the UK's Civil Aircraft Register, and its Military Aircraft Register. They are thus dual registered, and individually identified by a UK civilian aircraft registration mark (starting at G-VYGA, as an abbreviated homage to its Voyager military service name, through to G-VYGN), and a UK military aircraft registration (starting in series with ZZ330, as a nod to its Airbus A330 type, through to ZZ343); although only one type of registration mark is displayed, dependent on its operator. After delays in certification due to issues with its refuelling drogue baskets, its first operational aerial refuelling flight took place on . Following subsequent successful Voyager tanker aerial fuel delivery operations to all operational Royal Air Force, and allied receiver aircraft, in late 2013, No. 101 Squadron RAF retired all their remaining Vickers VC10s and became the second RAF flying squadron alongside 10 Squadron to operate the Voyager. During the COVID-19 pandemic, this refuelling stop was moved to Blaise Diagne International Airport in Dakar, west Africa, from April to September 2020. Following major repairs to the runway at RAF Ascension Island by US contractors, ground refuelling stops resumed at the island in May 2023. More recent non-stop flights from Brize Norton to Mount Pleasant and return have been made by the civilian-crews on 19 November 2023 in 19 hours 14 minutes, 6 December 2023 in 18:57, 6 June 2024 in 18:30, 20 June 2024 in 18:27, 29 July 2024 in 18:43, 6 October 2024 in 18:50, and 4 November 2024 in 18:23. From late 2014, up to two AirTanker Holdings RAF Voyager KC3 aircraft operated by the RAF have been involved in combat missions in support of Operation Shader. They are tasked for tanker sorties supplying fuel to RAF Eurofighter Typhoon FGR4s and Lockheed Martin F-35Bs, AV-8B Harriers and F/A-18 Hornets of the US Marine Corps, along with other probe-equipped coalition receiver aircraft. In May 2015, AirTanker Holdings leased one de-modified and demilitarised A330-243 aircraft to Thomas Cook Airlines to be deployed on holiday routes. The contract ran for three years, and involved mainly long-haul flights from Glasgow Airport, Manchester Airport and London Stansted Airport. The first commercial flight took place on , from Manchester to Cancun in Mexico and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. In April 2017, a second aircraft was also leased to Thomas Cook Airlines and in May 2019 another was leased to Jet2.com, following a different aircraft being leased to Jet2.com in June 2017. , the Royal Air Force's VIP Voyager KC3 returns to RAF Brize Norton following completion of programmed mid-life major servicing and her new 'Global Britain' gloss-white livery, June 2020.|alt=A gloss white painted Airbus A330 with a red, white and blue 'Union Jack' flag on its vertical tail fin and UNITED KINGDOM in gold lettering on its upper fuselage, operated by the Royal Air Force, which has been modified for military and VIP use, is about to land RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire, England. During early 2016, RAF Voyager KC3 aircraft (ZZ336) was further converted to VIP fitment for use by members of the British Royal Family, the Prime Minister, and senior members of the UK Government. Whilst still retaining its original core military function of aerial refuelling tanker and military transport, the aircraft's passenger cabin was reconfigured to include fifty-eight business class seats up front in a dual-aisle one-two-one configuration, retaining one-hundred premium economy standard-class seats in the standard two-four-two configuration rear cabin. The VIP upgrade also included secure satellite communications system, missile detection, secure weapons storage, and media facilities, similar to other dedicated air transports of heads of state and government. This aircraft originally retained its military low-visibility matt-grey exterior paint scheme, identical to the remainder of the Voyager KC2 and KC3 fleet. During mid-2020, as part of its programmed mid-life upgrades and major servicing, it was repainted in gloss-white 'Global Britain' livery, which includes a stylised Union Jack on its tail fin and winglets, gold United Kingdom lettering, but retaining its Royal Air Force name, RAF roundels, and prominent military aircraft registration. When returned to service with the RAF, it was given the name Vespina by the Royal Air Force. On AirTanker Holdings reached the final establishment phase milestone in the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft programme; with the achievement of full service date on time and on budget, delivering all fourteen A330-243 MRTT aircraft to the RAF on behalf of the UK government. In 2017, AirTanker Services established a new operating base at Manchester Airport to support its AirTanker civilian leasing operations for its de-modified demilitarised A330-243 aircraft. The same year, members of AirTankers' cabin crew were seconded to Thomas Cook Airlines, fostering its existing relationship and facilitating training of A330 cabin crew for Thomas Cook Airlines. In 2022, AirTanker Services was awarded a contract by Airbus Defence and Space, on behalf of the European Defence Agency, who are the operator of the Multinational MRTT Fleet (MMF), for its fleet of Airbus A330 MRTT as used by six NATO partner nations. This was to provide engineering support services to the Netherlands-based, but Luxembourg-registered Multinational MRTT Fleet. The contract agreement is for a work share between AirTanker and Airbus for three specific support services; these include Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-60 engine support, Cobham flight refuelling pod support, and maintenance. == Corporate affairs ==

AirTanker Services Limited (ATS) and AirTanker Holdings Limited (ATH) are both owned by a consortium (in varying percentage stakes for each company); consisting of Airbus, Rolls-Royce plc (23.5% ATS, and previously 23.1% ATH), AirTanker Services and AirTanker Holdings both have their headquarters and registered office at the AirTanker Hub, RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. ==Personnel and support==

AirTanker Holdings owns the entire fleet of fourteen Airbus A330-243 aircraft under the terms of its contract with the UK government. AirTanker Services operate the aircraft, and also provides full support infrastructure to service and maintain the aircraft fleet, operational management, personnel training, and some specific aircraft crews. For Royal Air Force operations (identified by its ICAO airline designator: RAF), this latter includes military pilots and engineers who are classed as 'Sponsored Reservists'. Its surge fleet, the de-modified demilitarised A330-243 aircraft, used as civilian air charter or wet lease, are operated by AirTanker civilian pilots, but draw cabin crew from the respective civilian airline they operate for. ==Fleet==

AirTanker Holdings has a 27-year contract to provide fourteen aircraft. All airframes are the Airbus A330 MRTT; based upon the A330-243 civilian airliner with a dual-aisle, two-four-two passenger cabin, powered by a pair of Rolls-Royce Trent 772B-60 turbofan jet engines. Each aircraft can carry a total fuel load of . The Voyagers are able to dispense of fuel, from its existing wing and fuselage fuel tanks, to receiver aircraft via its hose-and-drogue systems. They have a loiter time of up to four hours, and a range of more than . • Voyager KC2 – three aircraft with two under-wing outboard Cobham 905E hose and drogue refuelling pods, suitable for supplying fuel to probe-equipped small fast-jet combat aircraft such as the Panavia Tornado, Eurofighter Typhoon, and Lockheed Martin F-35B. • A330-243 — four de-modified and demilitarised aircraft operating purely as a civilian passenger airliner for short-term air charter or longer-term wet or damp lease. replacing ZM417; and its former C-130 Hercules) transport aircraft, along with the four quick reaction alert (QRA) Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets of No. 1435 Flight RAF. An additional demilitarised A330-243 operated by AirTanker is used twice weekly to provide the air bridge between RAF Brize Norton in the UK and RAF Mount Pleasant in the South Atlantic. ==Accidents and incidents==

On Sunday 9 February 2014, an RAF Voyager KC3, registration ZZ333, was tasked with an air transport flight from RAF Brize Norton ( to Camp Bastion in Afghanistan. With the call sign ISF 63JW, operated by a crew of nine, and carrying 189 passengers, it departed at 12:00 UTC for an estimated flight duration of eight hours twenty minutes. At 15:49 UTC, whilst over the Black Sea in Turkish airspace during hours of darkness, the aircraft rapidly lost of altitude in 27 seconds from its autopilot-controlled cruising altitude of , and reaching a maximum descent rate of . A maximum indicated air speed of , or Mach 0.9, was recorded during this descent while the co-pilot was out of the cockpit making a hot beverage in the forward galley. The co-pilot returned to the cockpit to a scene of disarray, audible alarms, and "violent shaking" of the aircraft. He reached over to his right-hand side-stick, pulling back to regain control of the aircraft as the aircraft's built-in safeguards also kicked in. The sudden descent caused several injuries to twenty-five passengers and seven crew, some of whom struck the ceiling of the aircraft; they were attended by medical personnel onboard as passengers on the flight. A maximum g-force of minus 0.56 g was recorded at the start of the dive, and plus 2.06 g during the recovery to level flight. After gaining control, the aircraft diverted to Incirlik Air Base in Turkey and landed without further incident. The incident resulted in the grounding of the entire RAF Voyager fleet for twelve days. Following an investigation by the Military Air Accidents Investigation Branch (MilAAIB) at Farnborough on 14 February 2014, the UK Military Aviation Authority published a report which determined that the event was caused by the captain's improperly stowed DSLR camera being jammed between the captain's armrest and the side-stick controller, forcing the stick forward when the captain adjusted his seat forward. ==Gallery==