British Airways 747s will say a last public goodbye to Heathrow Airport
this morning.
If the weather and air traffic allow, two of BA’s jumbos will
take off in a synchronised dual take-off on parallel runways at Heathrow
Airport at 8.30am, which will be followed by a flypast. One plane (G-CIVB) has flown 59
million miles over its 26-year career and is painted in the heritage ‘Negus’
livery while the other (G-CIVY) has flown 45 million miles in 22 years and is
in the ‘Chatham Dockyard’ livery.
In July, British Airways announced that its 747s
had flown their last commercial services as a result of the impact the Covid-19
pandemic has had on the airline and the aviation sector. The fleet is being
replaced by quieter more fuel-efficient aircraft as part of the airline’s
commitment to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chairman and CEO, said “[Today] will be a difficult day for everybody at British Airways as the aircraft leaves
our home at Heathrow for the very last time. We will pay tribute to them for
the incredible part they have played in our 100-year history and to the
millions of customers and BA colleagues who have flown on board and taken care
of them.”
BOAC, the long-haul carrier that formally merged with BEA to
form BA in 1974, started 747 services on 14 April 1971, meaning that the plane
has racked up almost 50 years of service with the carrier. At one point, the
airline operated a fleet of 57 747-400s, making it the world’s largest operator of the
plane.
The flights of the two planes will be among the shortest they have ever undertaken. One will fly to Kemble in Gloucestershire and the other to St Athan in Wales.
The
departure will be live-streamed on BA’s Facebook page
and the airline has asked fans of the aircraft to share their memories of the
plane at 7.47am and 7.47pm using the hashtag #BA747farewell.