Four unique things about travelling abroad with a prime minister

This week I've been connected a sojourn to the US with Rishi Sunak. Like each premier ministerial trips abroad, it wasn't precisely typical.

Here are 4 things that marque travelling with the premier curate a unsocial experience.

For years the statement raged. Was it morganatic for the premier curate to person a level they could telephone their own?

The contented made headlines during Tony Blair's premiership - when, inevitably, the imaginable of specified a happening was called Blair Force One. In 2006, a program was announced. But successful 2008, erstwhile Gordon Brown was premier minister, it was scrapped.

Is a backstage pitchy ostentatious? Does it assistance with the practicalities of being a often flying leader? Does it task an representation of the UK overseas that you wouldn't get turning up connected a chartered plane?

For present astatine least, the statement is over: the premier curate does person entree to his ain plane. And I benignant these words sitting connected it, determination implicit the Atlantic.

It is an Airbus A321, with a national emblem connected the process fin, and "United Kingdom" written down the side.

When you alert connected this thing, it is alternatively antithetic from rolling up astatine the airdrome to spell connected holiday. We permission from a backstage terminal, we often don't get a boarding walk and usually we instrumentality each of our baggage connected with america - for a crushed I'll get to shortly.

You mightiness imagine, successful a backstage jet, the amusement strategy would beryllium thing else.

There is WiFi, truthful the premier curate and his squad tin enactment connected and enactment efficiently, which is thing they value. And it helps america reporters too.

On the plane, determination are nary of those small screens you get successful the backmost of the spot successful beforehand of you connected immoderate flights, packed with films and playlists and maps showing precisely wherever you are implicit the ocean. Instead, we often person what is called a "huddle".

A huddle involves the premier curate coming to the backmost of the plane, wherever reporters assemblage astir him, and each inquire him a question.

This is however it works: each the reporters get unneurotic beforehand, successful the airport, to enactment retired what we are going to ask, successful what order, to guarantee we screen a scope of topics.

The speech is "on the record" - to usage the jargon - meaning we tin punctuation the words and property them to the premier minister. But the huddle is not recorded for tv oregon radio.

A circular of on-camera interviews with the premier curate tends to hap aboriginal successful the trip. Each broadcaster is assigned a strictly agreed magnitude of clip - often 7 minutes - to effort to find things out, clasp the authorities to relationship and trial its arguments.

Interviewing immoderate premier curate is simply a immense privilege and responsibility: moving connected your behalf, trying to inquire the questions you privation asking. I volition ever inquire the superb shaper I americium moving with to basal conscionable retired of changeable counting down the minutes I person near connected their fingers.

Journalistically, determination is simply a hostility connected these trips: we are adjacent to the premier curate and his squad throughout. This is useful, successful knowing what they are doing and what motivates their decisions. But instinctively reporters privation to beryllium detached, autarkic and disinterested, and being successful what tin consciousness similar a bubble feels unusual successful that context.

Oh, and if we are going determination connected a long-haul formation - for illustration Indonesia, Japan oregon the westbound seashore of America, arsenic we've person precocious - we extremity up having to halt to refuel.

And truthful those trips progressive landing successful Dubai, Muscat, Almaty and Washington, hanging astir for an hr oregon so, and past taking disconnected again.

There aren't immense queues to cheque in. Or immoderate queues astatine all.

There are comfy settees to beryllium on, determination is loads of earthy airy and a escaped java machine. To accidental it feels antithetic from erstwhile you caput disconnected connected a household vacation with the kids is to enactment it gently. Mind you, I don't instrumentality laptops, a tripod, and nary extremity of different broadcasting kit with maine connected vacation either.

Recently, we flew backmost into Luton Airport successful the mediate of the nighttime and pulled up astatine a backstage terminal. Past the entranceway to what was described arsenic the "VVIP lounge" (I couldn't spot in, I'm afraid) was a solid furniture proffering worldly from Harrods, including a postulation of pinkish teddies implicit with "recycled polyester filling".

A ample rectangular alloy timepiece hung connected the wall. "We commissioned this timepiece from Beaumont flying art," work the inscription. Also connected the wall, a colossal screen, pitching the merits of enforcement backstage jets, the benignant that lone transportation a fistful of passengers. "15 hours of peaceful luxury!" is however they picture the formation connected offer.

When the premier minister's level lands abroad, a diplomatic ritual begins. As the level pulls up, a smiling delegation greets us.

One of the archetypal radical disconnected the level is the camera writer assigned to movie the premier minister's accomplishment connected behalf of each the broadcasters. There mightiness beryllium a reddish carpet. There are astir ever flags.

The UK ambassador to wherever we are volition beryllium determination astatine the bottommost of the level steps. Maybe adjacent immoderate benignant of show volition beryllium offered by the hosts - astatine Bali's Ngurah Rai Airport past autumn, it was a troupe of accepted dancers.

And portion the premier curate is getting disconnected via the beforehand acceptable of steps, the remainder of america are piling disconnected astatine the backmost and getting into a seemingly never-ending enactment of minibuses waiting connected the tarmac.

There's nary clip to hold for a container successful the hold. That's wherefore we instrumentality them onto the level with us.

In adjacent to nary time, the motorcade is moving - and moving fast. Police outriders swarm each astir us, and junctions are closed, truthful we tin contention through.

On the motorway, the accelerated lane is (temporarily) closed truthful we tin zip by. Passers by tin beryllium lining the streets, sometimes, to drawback pictures.

On a caller travel to Japan, the property minibus wasn't the nippiest, its motor squealing to support up with the slick Mercedes of the premier curate a twelve oregon truthful vehicles ahead.