Summary
- Julian Assange has boarded a luxury jet to leave the UK after a lengthy imprisonment.
- The flight cost $500,000, covered by the Australian government, but will be repaid.
- Assange to be reunited with wife and children in Australia.
WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has finally left the UK after spending 1,901 days in Bellmarsh prison. The journalist will not be extradited to the USA, but will instead plead guilty to charges under the Espionage Act in the US territory of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Despite being accustomed to confinement in a cell for up to 22 hours a day, Assange left the UK in style. Photos emerged of him boarding a VistaJet private aircraft, a Bombardier Global 6000, as he left the UK on the long journey home.
The flight to freedom
Operating Assange’s freedom flight was an 8-year-old Bombardier Global 6000, delivered to VistaJet in March 2016. Registered 9H-VTD, the jet is known to be regularly used by VistaJet founder Thomas Flohr, and has previously been chartered for various celebrities including, allegedly, Taylor Swift.
The jet took off from London Stansted at just after 18:00 local time, climbing quickly to 39,000 feet for the cruise across Europe. Around 6 hours into the flight, as the aircraft crossed into Asia, it climbed to a new cruise altitude of 45,000 feet, all perfectly normal for executive jets.
It was around 12 hours later when the Global 6000 began its descent into Bangkok Don Mueang International Airport, where it landed at 12:30 local time.
The aircraft is already scheduled to depart later today, at around 21:00 local time. From there, it’s a nine-hour flight to Saipan in the Northern Mariana Islands, where Assange will plead guilty and be sentenced.
It is expected that Assange will face a sentence of 62 months, equal to his time already served in the British prison. He will then continue on to Australia, where he will be reunited with his wife Stella and two children, Gabriel and Max, neither of whom have ever known a father who was not behind bars.
How much did the Assange freedom flight cost?
According to BBC reporting, the flight from the UK to Australia (via Thailand and the Northern Mariana Islands) cost $500,000 (£393,715). The Australian government is covering that cost, but Assange’s wife Stella says the money will be repaid.
Speaking to Newshour, Stella says the funds will come from the Assange campaign.
The Bombardier Global operated by VistaJet has a maximum range of 6,000 NM and accommodates up to 14 passengers (with beds for up to seven). As is customary with VistaJet aircraft, it is luxuriously appointed inside, with white leather recliners and handmade cabinetry. The aft cabin converts to a private stateroom, complete with bed and recliner.
It’s unclear who else is on the flight with Assange, but wife Stella is urging the world to track the trip via the hashtag #assangejet.