THE “fantastic” efforts of the men and women who look after troops at Britain’s biggest military airbase were praised by David Cameron.

The Prime Minister, and Witney MP, thanked both staff and military personnel at RAF Brize Norton for their work flying troops to and from Afghanistan, and sending vital supplies to the frontline.

Yesterday’s comments came as he visited the base, near Carterton, to see the latest addition to its fleet – a new multi-million pound C-17 transporter plane.

The aircraft, which can carry 138 people, three Apache helicopters or 13 Land Rovers, is the seventh C-17 based at Brize.

Mr Cameron met the station commander, Group Captain Dom Stamp, and spoke to the aircraft’s personnel.

He said: “As the local constituency MP, it is lovely to be at RAF Brize Norton to say thank you to everyone here who works very hard to make sure our airbridge with Afghanistan is working well.

“Their efforts have been fantastic.”

Almost all the British troops deployed to Afghanistan fly out from the base. The C-17 fleet will be joined this year by the first of 14 Airbus A330-200-based Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft.

The base will eventually also house 22 Airbus Military A400Ms.

Employing more than 3,900 service personnel and more than 600 civilians, RAF Brize Norton deals with thousands of flights a year to military bases around the globe.

Staff worked around the clock in the run-up to Christmas to make sure troops could get home to their families.

Gp Capt Stamp said the delivery of the new C-17 – operated by 99 Squadron – highlighted the level of investment in RAF Brize Norton.

He said: “Along with the delivery of other aircraft in the next few years, the C-17 will give us a cutting edge fleet, surpassed perhaps only by the Americans. The latest C-17 is a great addition to the base, and can fly between here and Helmand Province.

“We are in a state of flux at the moment. When we welcome personnel from RAF Lyneham next year, we will have around 7,000 people working here.”

The repatriation of troops killed on service is likely to switch to Brize following the closure of the Wiltshire base.

Gp Capt Stamp added: “We are fully operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, supporting our troops through thick and thin.

“Whatever the recent weather threw at us, personnel and staff kept going and made sure we got troops back for Christmas.

“It was really lovely that the Prime Minister visited the base and thanked those who have worked so hard.”