Pulp Fiction star John Travolta landed at London’s Heathrow Airport on Monday on the latest stop of a global tour aimed at promoting air travel in the wake of the September 11 attacks.
The Hollywood star and aviation buff stepped out of his vintage 1960s jet to be greeted by hundreds of photographers eager to get a snap of him in his uniform. Although his Spirit of Friendship mission is a light-hearted way at encouraging air travel on behalf of the Australian airline Qantas, John said he takes his flying very seriously and spoke of his concern at a public backlash against taking to the skies after the air hijacking attacks on the US.
“Suddenly the things I loved most, the airlines, were being used as destructive tools,” he said. The 48-year-old actor had originally intended the trip to promote Qantas – for which he is an “Ambassador-at-large” – but after September 11 he decided to widen the scope of the journey to promote aviation in general.
“I wanted to get back to the spirit, like when I was a kid in the 1960s, when flying was glamorous and fun and wonderful,” he said. “I hope we can get back to that and a feeling of the sky being safe again.”
John has had a keen interest in flying since the age of 16 and has licences to fly eight different types of jet aircraft, the latest coming in June this year when he qualified as a pilot of a Boeing 747-400 Jumbo jet after undertaking a rigorous Qantas training programme. The actor said the day he was presented with his Qantas golden wings was “one of the proudest of my life” and said that it meant as much to him as his two Oscar nominations.
His 1960s Boeing has been painted in the original white and red livery of the Australian airline from that period and is fitted with a double bed, shower, kitchen and leather sofas. John has named the aircraft Jett Clipper Ella after his two children Jett, aged 10, and Ella, two.
The star is due to leave for Rome sometime next week and will end his tour in New York ahead of the September 11 anniversary.
Photo: © Alphapress.com
Photo: © Alphapress.com
