Updated 6.15pm

President George Vella took a private jet to the Queen’s funeral because all other “direct flights were full-up”, according to his Office.

The one-way flight to London on September 17, 2022 cost Maltese taxpayers €30,350, according to invoices published by the website MaltaFiles, with the president and his entourage also racking up an additional €32,000 bill for hotel accommodation. 

A spokesperson for his office said the president was forced to charter a private jet because all commercial flights to London were full and catching a connecting flight would have meant he would not have made it to the funeral in time. 

The president flew back to Malta on a commercial flight. 

A billboard depicts President George Vella and his wife Miriam along with a message reading ‘thanks’ as they prepare to leave office.

As Malta’s head of state, Vella was among the hundreds of dignitaries invited to Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022. 

On Monday, MaltaFiles published invoices for the president’s private jet flight,  accommodation at the Corinthia Hotel London and Air Malta flights back from the UK.

Vella’s stay at the five-star Corinthia cost another €32,000 and Air Malta flights cost €6,000, shooting the total cost of the four-day trip to more than €60,000.

Vella signing a condolence book during his London visit for Queen Elizabeth’s state funeral in September 2022. Photo: Facebook / George Vella

The Queen’s funeral was held in London on September 19, 2022. The Office of the President said that Vella and an “accompanying delegation” flew to London on September 17 and returned on September 20. 

“The President of Malta travelled with a private jet on the outbound to London to attend HM Queen Elizabeth’s funeral as direct flights were full-up and the available connection flights were not a valid option to allow The President to arrive in time to be able to attend the funeral,” she said.

“With regards to the inbound flight from London, The President of Malta returned to Malta with an Air Malta flight on 20th September 2022.”

Accommodation cost €10,000 per night

However, invoices for accommodation detailed a much longer stay, spanning from September 16 to 29. 

A spokesperson for the president said that was an error, as the Maltese delegation was only in London for three nights.

The spokesperson did not, however, contest the £27,926.76 (€32,605.73) total amount invoiced – meaning the delegation spent more than €10,000 per night on accommodation alone.

The interior of a Bombardier Challenger 605 private jet. Photo: Shutterstock

In 2022, days before the funeral which captured global attention, Politico had reported that Buckingham Palace was urging dignitaries to avoid taking private jets or helicopters to the event, as Heathrow Airport would probably not be able to accommodate aircraft parking for all.

The published invoices show that the Bombardier Challenger 605 private jet which Vella and his delegation chartered landed in Farnborough Airport – an airport outside London which advertises itself as the “ultimate in private aviation where discreet ambience and exemplary service are combined with bespoke amenities and state of the art services for passengers, crew and aircraft.”

Reports of the delegation’s lavish spending prompted a stern reaction from Daphne Foundation director Matthew Caruana Galizia. 

“The President spent more than €60,000 on a private jet and luxury hotel for an event of a few hours but we’re then expected to donate to his charity, the MCCF, to sustain basic public services like healthcare,” Caruana Galizia wrote on social media.

The MCCFF, or Malta Community Chest Fund Foundation, raises and disburses funds for social purposes and those in need through fundraising events. It is headed by the sitting president.