Government aircraft

Government aircraft are aircraft used by state or national governments for official duties: flights of the head of state, the royal family, the prime minister and ministers. They range from repurposed business jets to large airliners modified for government needs, with offices, conference rooms, secure communications and sometimes self-protection systems and air refuelling.

The first government flights were made in 1919, when converted Airco DH.4 bombers flew British politicians to the Paris peace conference. In 1943 Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first US president to fly while in office, and from the 1950s the presidential aircraft got the famous call sign "Air Force One". Today many countries have their own government aircraft, like the Dutch Boeing 737 PH-GOV.