The official Falklands website states the following:
There are over 30 European tour operators featuring tailor-made packages and escorted tours to the Falkland Islands, some travelling to the Islands by Ministry of Defence (MoD) Charter flight from the UK, but many now choose the weekly commercial service from South America, which has seen a steady increase in traffic.
There is a weekly LAN flight to the Falkland Islands from Santiago in Chile. Please visit International Tours and Travel, the LAN Chile agents in the Falklands, www.falklandstravel.com.
The MoD Charter flight flies to the Falklands six times per month from RAF Brize Norton, Oxfordshire. Bookings can be made via the Travel Coordinator, Falkland Islands Government Office, London. T: 020 7222 2542 or email [email protected].
For further information, please visit: www.visitorfalklands.com
This, to me, means that
anyone can book a seat on a MoD chartered flight; whether or not this is a significant revenue stream for the MoD, I have no idea. The flights are not - and have not been for many years - exclusively military. On many occasions I've paxed between BZN and MPA with civilians on board - either contractors personnel or Falklands residents, plus some tourists.
However, I don't know whether this is still true of the new Omni operation. One thing though - their aircraft look much smarter than those old Icelandic-coded 747s which we used to see.
Before the RAF operated the route with TriStars, it was contracted variously to ba and Virgin. With other calls on the few serviceable passenger TriStars the MoD has, it is natural for the route to be supported by charter airlines.
But the question of flying non-MoD passengers and freight on such aircraft is one for the politicians to answer. Both in the government and in BALPA.