Keith Reynolds returned to London part-way through the trip after Russian authorities insisted that one of their own navigators accompany the two-seater plane over their air space.

Brian Milton stays in the plane, but without his colleague

Mr Reynolds's co-pilot Brian Milton wil carry on with the global circumnavigation, following Jules Verne's fictional character Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days.

Mr Reynolds, 46, a professional pilot from Kent, had been forced to take an airliner for part of the trip over Russia.

They had already set a record by reaching India in only 19 days.

It was understood that it was intended he meet up again with Mr Milton in Alaska to continue the flight across north America and the Atlantic and finish the journey back in Britain, but decided to pull out.

After flying in to Gatwick Airport he said: "I am absolutely gutted and devastated by this, but I don't feel that it is really my choice.

"All I wanted to do was to fly around the world, but after the Russians wanted their own navigator, Brian had to ask me to step down.

"There was nothing else I could do and I never said I would meet up with Brian in Alaska.