Royal Flight of Oman
Military unit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Royal Flight of Oman (RFO) is the VIP air transport capability embedded within the Sultan of Oman's Royal Household. The Royal Flight is not a military organisation, but rather part of the Diwan of Royal Court Affairs;[5] it is not part of the Royal Guard of Oman.[6]
| Royal Flight of Oman | |
|---|---|
Royal Standard of the Sultan of Oman | |
| Active | 1974 - present |
| Country | Sultanate of Oman |
| Allegiance |  Oman |
| Role | VIP Transport |
| Part of | The Diwan of Royal Court Affairs |
| Main operating base | Muscat International Airport (MCT/OOMS)[1] |
| Paint scheme on fixed wing aircraft | All over white with red and green cheatline with national flag on tail fin[2] |
| ICAO and IATA Codes | ORF and RS |
| Commanders | |
| Commander of His Majesty’s Royal Flight Oman | Captain Suleiman Bin Harith al Barashdi (since 2010)[3][4] |
| Aircraft flown | |
| Transport | Airbus A319 & A320, Boeing 747, Gulfstream 550 & VIP helicopters |
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The RFO was formed in 1974 and started with a few fixed wing aircraft, rotary wing aircraft were added in 1975.[7][8]
The RFO has its own staff housing and welfare complex (including a club and an international school) on Al Matar Street near Muscat International Airport.[9]
Bases
The RFO has one permanent operating base and a secondary base:[10]
- Muscat International Airport - in a segregated and separately secured VIP terminal and hangar area[11][12]
- Salalah International Airport - is used regularly and there is a segregated and separately secured VIP terminal supporting RFO activities.
RFO aircraft will also make use of Omani regional airports and RAFO airbases as necessary.
Current inventory
The RFO operates the following aircraft types:[citation needed]
| Aircraft | Origin | Type | Variant | Numbers | Registration/Nickname | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passenger Jet Aircraft | ||||||
| Boeing 747SP | USA | VIP Transport | SP27 | 1 | A4O-SO/Sohar[13] | Delivered 02/07/1984 |
| Boeing 747-400 | USA | VIP Transport | 430 | 1 | A4O-OMN/Sohar[14] | Delivered 30/04/2004 |
| Boeing 747-8 | USA | VIP Transport | 747-8 | 1 | A4O-HMS/Nizwa[15] | Delivered 2012[16] |
| Airbus A319 | Germany | VIP Transport | 133 CJ | 1 | A4O-AJ/Khasab[citation needed] | Delivered Feb 2013 |
| Airbus A320 | France | VIP Transport | 233 | 1 | A4O-AA/Saiq[citation needed] | Delivered Dec 2005 |
| General Dynamics Gulfstream G550 | USA | VIP Transport | G550 | 2 | A4O-AD/Masirah[17]
A4O-AE/Al Hazim[18] |
Delivered Jul 2011[citation needed] |
| Transport Aircraft | ||||||
| Lockheed Martin C-130 Super Hercules | USA | Medium lift transport | J variant | 1 | 525[19] | Delivered 2012[20] |
| Passenger Rotary Wing Aircraft | ||||||
| Eurocopter EC225 Super Puma II | France | VIP Transport | EC225LP | 6 | A4O-HD, A4O-HE, A4O-HF
A4O-HMA, A4O-HMB, A4O-HMC |
Delivered 2007 |
| Eurocopter AS550 Fennec | France | VIP Transport | AS550C3 | 3 | 07, 08, & 09[21] | Delivered 2005 |