Talk:Very important person

2007-02-9 Automated pywikipediabot message
--CopyToWiktionaryBot 13:54, 9 February 2007 (UTC)

IRRITATING WORD
This is against the basic principle of equality, so it cannot be accepted by free and democratic countries. Val —Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.55.182.251 (talk • contribs)

VIP can also be an important criminal witness especially under witness protection programs although cases of having an important criminal witness as a VIP is rare. Mail J. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.52.234.119 (talk) 10:02, 29 December 2008 (UTC)

derivation? origin?
Very Important seems so low-brow. Was VIP maybe originally a latin phrase? Inquiring minds want to know. Kingturtle (talk) 18:02, 14 January 2009 (UTC)


 * It comes from RAF wartime passenger lists - politicians, diplomats, etc., had 'VIP' - short for 'Very Important Person' written alongside their name so that the flight crew would know that they had to take care of them and show respect for their (the passenger's) positions. In other words, any complaints from the 'VIP' about the flight would likely be taken seriously, so the crew had better be on their best behaviour. In the RAF (and other Commonwealth air forces, RCAF, RAAF, SAAF, RNZAF, etc.) the pilot was automatically the aircraft Captain and he therefore outranked anyone on board, so he could if he so-wished or thought it necessary for the safety of the aircraft, give orders to a passenger who was a Prime Minister or a President and expect them to be obeyed. Having a 'VIP' on-board meant that if he did so, he would be expected to do-so diplomatically and without causing offence.


 * Some RAF transport aircrews were not noted for showing respect to their passengers on flights, one pilot stationed in the Middle East was known for rolling empty beer cans down the aisle during one night flight saying 'If I can't get any sleep I'll be buggered if those b*****s back there will either' —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.40.252.67 (talk) 12:59, 6 October 2009 (UTC)


 * It was also used by pilots to warn crew at places they were about to land that there was a senior officer on board. They would radio ahead and list a string of jargon to say what they were carrying - this would include VIP to ensure a smart turn-out of the ground crew. Saga City (talk) 16:25, 6 October 2009 (UTC)


 * One of the pilots who flew these sort of flights was BBC commentator Raymond Baxter and it was in a magazine account of his that he recounted the story above about the beer cans. Baxter was originally on Spitfires but flew Dakotas in the Middle East for a while before returning to fighters. I should add that it wasn't him he was talking about, but somebody he knew. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 213.40.254.9 (talk) 21:57, 6 October 2009 (UTC)


 * A 1944 Fight article on the Avro York with use of 'VIP' here; and a 1945 one here:   — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.24.215.177 (talk) 16:41, 14 September 2014 (UTC)

Arbab Rizvi — Preceding unsigned comment added by 39.48.123.130 (talk) 12:44, 3 October 2015 (UTC)


 * The term originates with RAF Ferry Command who sometimes flew civilian high-ranking people across the Atlantic in the early days of WW II. One converted "VIP Aircraft" was Commando (aircraft). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2.31.130.20 (talk) 10:10, 2 October 2015 (UTC)

"VIP syndrome" listed at Redirects for discussion
A discussion is taking place to address the redirect VIP syndrome. The discussion will occur at Redirects for discussion/Log/2020 November 22 until a consensus is reached, and readers of this page are welcome to contribute to the discussion. 🌸 1.Ayana 🌸 (talk) 12:06, 22 November 2020 (UTC)