As the UK gears up to mark the coronation of King Charles III, heads of state from across the world have begun arriving, ready to join the celebrations. Over the past couple of days, Presidential aircraft and private jets from various countries have been spotted making their way to the UK.Representatives from 203 countries, including around 100 heads of state, are expected to be part of the 2,200-strong congregation in London's Westminster Abbey on May 6th. The VIPs have been arriving at various gateways around southern England, including Farnborough (FAB) and Northolt (NHT). London Stansted Airport (STN) has also played host to many arrivals.Jill Biden, First Lady of the United States and wife of President Joe Biden took to Twitter to announce her departure from the US:

Germany's President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, and his wife, Elke Büdenbender, also shared their excitement as they made their way to see King Charles following his recent state visit to Germany:

VIP arrivals at London Stansted Airport

Among the largest aircraft to arrive at London Stansted Airport were a Thai Airways Boeing 777-300ER (registration HS-TTA), carrying the King and Queen of Thailand from Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport (DMK), and another Boeing 777-300ER (registration K7067) belonging to the Government of India, touching down from Delhi (DEL). However, even these mighty aircraft were beaten in size by the Qatari Amiri Boeing 747-8 (registration A7-HHE) arriving from Doha (DOH).

The aircraft to have made the longest non-stop journey to the UK was an Australian Royal Air Force Airbus A330. This aircraft is an Airbus KC-30A - a modified military Airbus A330-200 capable of aerial refueling. It made the long journey from Darwin (DRW), departing on Thursday evening and touching down at London Stansted Airport some 19 hours and 30 minutes later.

Aircraft from around the world

Among the other aircraft seen arriving in the UK ahead of King Charles' coronation are:

  • Ghana - a Dassault Falcon 900EX (registration 9G-EXE) operated by the Government of Ghana arrived at London Stansted Airport from Accra (ACC).
  • Kuwait - an Airbus A340-500 (registration 9K-GBB) touched down at London Stansted Airport from Kuwait City (KWI). This quadjet is a rare sight these days - the only commercial airline still to operate the type is Azerbaijan Airlines, which has two Airbus A340-500 in its fleet.
Kuwait Government Airbus A340-500
Photo: Lukas Wunderlich | Shutterstock
  • China - an Airbus A330-200 belonging to Air China arrived at London Stansted Airport from Beijing Capital International Airport (PEK).
  • Bulgaria - a Dassault Falcon 2000 (registration LZ-OOI) belonging to the Bulgarian Government touched down at Farnborough after the three-hour journey from Sofia (SOF).

RVA Aviation captured many of the arrivals at London Stansted Airport in this YouTube video:

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Sources: FlightRadar24.com, RVA Aviation, ch-aviation.com