An era ended for British Airways when two of its Boeing 747 fleet left Heathrow Airport for the last time.
Commonly referred to as jumbo jets, or more respectfully as the Queen of the Skies, the aircraft have been familiar sights over London and the rest of the UK for half a century.
Their departure from the BA fleet has been hastened by the crisis wreaked on the aviation industry by the coronavirus pandemic.
Aircraft G-CIVY, one of the last two British Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft, takes off on its final departure from Heathrow Airport, London (Steve Parsons/PA)A Union flag is waved from the cockpit window of one of the last two British Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft, designated G-CIVB, as it prepares for a final flight from Heathrow Airport, London (Steve Parsons/PA)A Boeing 747 in BOAC livery 7 (British Airways/PA)Aircraft G-CIVY, one of the last two British Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft, conducts a fly past after its final departure from Heathrow Airport, London (Steve Parsons/PA)A passenger cabin in a Boeing 747 57 in 1971 (BA/PA)The planes have become a familiar sight in the UK skies (Steve Parsons/PA)A 1971 photo of a Boeing 747 in British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) livery at London’s Heathrow airport. The airline is now known as BA (PA)A 1971 take-off in BOAC livery before the airline rebranded (PA)British Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft, designated G-CIVY performs a fly past over Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport (Andrew Matthews/PA)A British Airways Boeing 747 taking off from London’s Heathrow airport in 2001 (Tim Ockenden/PA)The last two British Airways Boeing 747-400 aircraft, designated G-CIVY (front) and G-CIVB prepare for the final flight from Heathrow Airport (Steve Parsons/PA)The double decker is known affectionately as the Queen of the Skies (Steve Parsons/PA)A Boeing 747 in BOAC livery 7 (British Airways/PA)
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