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British Airways is to retire its fleet of
Boeing 747s with immediate effect following a sharp downturn in travel caused by the
Coronavirus pandemic.
The airline has used the craft since July 1989 and is currently the world’s biggest operator of the 747-400 model.
It was planning to retire the fleet of 31 craft in 2024 but its end has been hastened by coronavirus.
The company said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect.
“It is unlikely our magnificent ‘queen of the skies’ will ever operate commercial services for
British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic.
“While the aircraft will always have a special place in our heart, as we head into the future we will be operating more flights on modern, fuel-efficient aircraft such as our new A350s and 787s, to help us achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.”
British Airways operated the plane, powered to a top speed of 614mph by four Rolls Royce engines, to destinations in
China, the US,
Canada and Africa.An aviation icon and the aircraft most pilots grew up wanting to fly. A few hours ago @British_Airways announced the retirement of the @Boeing 747-400. A favourite with pilots and cabin crew and, along with Concorde, the most recognisable aircraft in the world. “The Queen”✈️#QOTSpic.twitter.com/X695EiBBcM— Captain Dave (@DaveWallsworth) July 17, 2020This was the first jet I ever flew. It was an absolute pleasure to fly and flew me to so many adventures across the world. I’m in all 4 of these pictures. I’ll miss her iconic shape. Let’s get #BA747 trending by posting your favourite pictures using the #.Share the QOTS love 😍 pic.twitter.com/AuLYRkQ8Wr— Scott Bateman MBE (@scottiebateman) July 16, 2020UK airlines have struggled to cope with the collapse in demand caused by the coronavirus crisis, with easyJet, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic all announcing
Job cuts and reduced operations.
Meanwhile, demand for air travel will take longer to return to pre-pandemic levels than initially expected, according to the latest industry forecast.
Trade body ACI Europe, which represents European airports, said it does not expect passenger numbers to recover until 2024, one year later than it predicted in May.
This comes after figures for June show the increase in air travel following the easing of coronavirus restrictions has been slower than anticipated.
Passenger traffic across European airports last month was down 93% compared with June 2019.
This was an improvement on the 98% year-on-year decline recorded in May, but highlights how far the industry has to go to recover from the pandemic.Related... Extra £3bn Promised For NHS To Protect Against Virus Second Wave Matt Hancock Accused Of 'Rewriting History' Over Lockdown Date