FLY-BYE TO QUEEN OF THE SKY!
50-year era ends as BA’s last pair of jumbo jets take off for last time
FIFTY years of aviation history came to an end yesterday as the last British Airways jumbo jets left Heathrow.
The two remaining Boeing 747-400 aircraft departed shortly after 8.35am as more than 18,000 people watched a live-stream of the event on Facebook.
BA’s G-CIVB and G-CIVY 747 models had been due to perform a synchronised dual take-off on parallel runways, but bad weather meant they took off separately.
However, the Civil Aviation Authority did grant special permission for the G-CIVY to fly over Heathrow at 600ft in a poignant farewell to the airport – as tearful BA staff looked on. One of the 747s flew to Kemble airfield in the Cotswolds, where there are rumours it will be preserved as a public attraction. The other headed for St Athan airfield in South Wales for scrapping.
It marks a sad end for the iconic ‘Queen of the Skies’ and a watershed moment in the history of British aviation. Versions of the 345- seat four- engine aircraft have been in service with BA since 1971, and the final two planes since the 90s. The Daily Mail revealed in July that the airline was scrapping its fleet of 31 747s early, following a collapse in passenger numbers due to the pandemic.
Pete Glass, an air traffic control manager at Heathrow, said: ‘Saying goodbye has evoked mixed emotions for those of us with a great deal of fondness for the Queen of the Skies. It may have been superseded by other aircraft, but she will always be special, with her iconic look.’
BA bosses are thought to have discussed the possibility of a low-altitude flyover of a British landmark to mark the final flight.