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People Think The Union Jack On Boris Johnson's Plane Is Upside Down

People Think The Union Jack On Boris Johnson's Plane Is Upside Down

Spoiler alert - it's not...

Rebecca Shepherd

Rebecca Shepherd

The RAF Voyager, which is used by the Prime Minister as well as the royal family, was spotted yesterday (25 June) after getting a £900,000 paint job and people thought there was a huge error.

Taking to social media, the Airbus A330 was mocked for the flag on its tail being upside down.

PA

On Twitter, one person wrote: "Boris Johnson £900,000 voyager paint job and some d**khead has put the union flag upside down."

While another added: "I'm no vexillologist but it definitely looks upside down to me. Dozy b**tards," and a third commented: "OH MY GOD THE UNION JACK ON OUR EQUIVALENT TO AIR FORCE ONE (RAF VOYAGER) IS PAINTED F**KING UPSIDE DOWN!"

The UK Flag Institute says that the Union flag should have the broad white stripe above the red stripe in the top left hand corner to be the right way up.

This means that the port side of the tail (the left side of the plane) shows the flag correctly and the other side (which people think is upside down), shows the mirror image of that.

The port side is correct.
PA

Confirming the news to UKAviation, the Ministry of Defence explained: "The convention is for the flag design to appear as though it is flying from a flag placed on the nose of the aircraft, as it travels through the air.

"When viewing the starboard side (right-hand side), this can give the mistaken impression that the design is backwards, or upside down, when in fact the observer is simply viewing the reverse side of the flag.

"A keen eye will notice that this convention has been consistently applied on all flags represented on the aircraft, including on the Union Flags on the two forward-most aircraft doors."

The RAF Voyager was spotted for the first time yesterday (25 June) as it took off from Cambridge to fly back to its base in RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire.

It's hoped that the new paint job will enable the country to boost 'Brand Britain' but critics have mocked it as an expensive and impractical move.

According to a press release from the Royal Air Force, the new paint scheme will promote the UK around the world while transporting Ministers, senior members of the Royal Family, and delegations on trade, diplomatic and other missions.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Plane, UK News, News, UK