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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
World
Dorothy Reddin & David Kent

How the royal family sneaks onto commercial flights - with Irish airline a favourite for one member

The British royal family is known for arriving by various modes of transport when they go on official visits, be it helicopters, yachts or even a classic 4x4.

However, members of the prestigious group have also managed to stay hidden away while taking commercial flights.

In fact, they have a go-to airline of choice - the flag-bearing British Airways.

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip took a British Airways Concorde on their state visit to the USA in 1991 and were photographed disembarking at Bergstrom Air Force Base near Austin, Texas.

The Daily Express reports that the Queen does not travel on scheduled flights but instead uses chartered British Airways planes for official business.

In 2011 she chartered a British Airways Boeing 777 for her journey to Australia for an 11-day tour with the Duke of Edinburgh.

The rest of the Royal Family also flies commercial, with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle once flying British Airways Economy from London to Nice.

But they're not all about the extravagance - as Prince William has used Ryanair before on multiple occasions to get between London and Scotland.

Harry and William also both flew budget airlines back from their cousin Zara Tindall’s wedding in Scotland in 2011.

Some other members of the Royal Family have flown on private jets before, but they must be travelling for official business in order to receive this benefit, and it is not guaranteed.

The Royals get around the place on a number of different modes of transport (AFP/Getty Images)

The Queen reportedly sets a travel budget for the entire family each year, as these are taxpayer funds being used and costs can add up to millions of pounds each year.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were previously widely slated for taking Elton John’s private jet to Nice.

Harry defended his use of the private jet, stating that he mostly travels commercially and that in some cases he requires private travel arrangements, in light of security concerns for himself and his family.

He also confirmed that he makes use of “carbon offsetting” to cancel out his carbon footprint.

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