The U.K. government has reportedly canceled a VIP helicopter contract after former prime minister Rishi Sunak faced criticism for his use of private aircraft on short domestic flights.  

British media say Sunak’s successor, Keir Starmer, has canceled the contract, valued at an estimated £40 million (US$44.7 million), to distance the new Labour Party government from spending habits under the previous 14 years of Conservative Party rule. 

Sunak frequently flew in a government Leonardo AW109SP helicopter, operated by No. 32 (The Royal) Squadron of Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF). The aircraft is used for site-to-site transportation for senior military commanders and government ministers in the U.K. and Europe. 

The helicopter service had operated from RAF Northolt since 2006.  

In December 2023, The Guardian reported Sunak personally intervened to prevent the contract from being scrapped; it was scheduled to end in September of that year.  

An investigation by the BBC found Sunak used RAF jets and helicopters on domestic flights more than each of Britain’s three previous prime ministers. Critics pointed to the use of private aircraft for short trips as an expensive alternative to low-emissions travel like high-speed trains.  

Sunak boarded 23 domestic flights in 187 days, an average of one flight every eight days, the BBC reported. 

Private aviation has long been a lightning rod for controversy. Its defenders point to time savings and data –security of private flights for VIPs and business leaders in comparison to public and commercial transport. Opponents see it as a decadent symbol of government waste. 

A notice from the U.K. Ministry of Defence notes a previously-issued tender for a five-year rotary-wing command support contract was withdrawn July 28, 2024.