In late 1952 I was part of a ferry crew stranded in Malta with an U/S aircraft. At that time there were a number of Airwork Hermes aircraft passing through on trooping flights to and from the Suez Canal Zone.
I understood that for diplomatic reasons only military aircraft and military personnel could fly into the Canal Zone.
The aircraft still had their airline colour scheme but carried RAF roundals and serial numbers. I believe the flight deck crew wore RAFVR uniforms. The "cabin crew" were two SNCO Air Gunners who were in charge of the bar !