Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral on September 19 was attended by some 500 heads of state, including presidents, prime ministers and monarchs from across the globe, making it one of the largest such gatherings since the memorial for Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, in 2013. Here we illustrate some of the more unusual aircraft to visit the UK for the event
After delivering the Brunei Royal Family to Stansted, stylish Boeing 747-8 V8-BKH (c/n 41060) positioned to nearby Gatwick for parking. This aircraft is the third to carry the registration - it was previously worn by two different Airbus A340s Dave PotterAustralia was well represented at the funeral. Royal Australian Air Force Airbus KC-30A A39-006 (c/n 892) was the first of two examples to visit Stansted on September 16, followed by A39-007 (c/n 898). Among those who arrived on the jets were 39 members of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) who, along with troops from Canada and New Zealand, led the Queen’s funeral procession through the streets of London James RonayneThe Government of Namibia's smart Dassault Falcon 7X, V5-GON (c/n 127) is a regular visitor to Europe. The jet was used by President Hage Geingob, who continued on from London to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly Dave PotterPresident Jair Bolsonaro represented Brazil at the funeral. He arrived at Stansted on Força Aerea Brasileira Airbus VC-1A (A319-133) 2101 (c/n 2263) early on September 18 James RonayneWith space limited at London's airports, some visiting aircraft dropped off in the capital before relocating elsewhere for parking. This included the State of Kuwait's VIP-configured Airbus A340-541, 9K-GBB (c/n 1102), which made the hop from Stansted to Birmingham on September 19 Nik FrenchGulfstream G550 5H-ONE (c/n 5030) touching down at Luton with Samia Suluhu Hassan, President of Tanzania, on board James RonayneThe Cypriot Air Force’s newly acquired Embraer Legacy CAF-001 (c/n 145484) made a short visit to Stansted on September 18. The jet, which previously served with the Hellenic Air Force as 484, arrived from Athens before departing to Paphos Dave PotterAlgerian Air Force Gulfstream V 7T-VPG (c/n 617) arrived back at Gatwick from Boufarik on September 19 to collect the passengers it had deposited a day earlier. It later departed home to Algiers James Ronayne
