Brize-Kabul/Kandahar Tristar route over the past ten days include long delays caused by non-pressurisation of cabin (at take-off), stuck door, fuel leak (x 2), crew hours expired, ground handling at Kandahar.
Only one Tristar available for inaugural Kandahar flight (one down for deep maintainence, other u/s for unspecified problem.
Add in bad weather delays and it is currently taking up to three days for people to get back for one week R and R.
Main problems are niggly. Sensors, hydraulics etc, caused by age and the aircraft forced to fly 17 hours a day.
MoD says it has other tanker Tristars which can carry pax - but that's only half the pax-only L1011s. And the US Navy isn't likely to release them while there are guys on the ground in need of CAS.
REAL credit then to the boys in blue who are busting their balls to meet requirements with the crap they are given by this pathetic MoD, whose
PR department puts out viciously-insulting half-truths and lies like this.
I take my hat off to the men and women of 216 et al !!