British Airways Airbus A319 takes off from Heathrow Airport in London, Britain, May 17, 2021.
John Sibley | Reuters
London’s Heathrow Airport will change about 15% of flights on Monday to avoid the noise of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral.
“As a matter of respect, operations to and from the airport will be subject to appropriate changes to avoid disturbing noise at certain locations at specific times on Monday,” Heathrow said. in a statement on Thursday.
British Airways said it would cancel around 50 short-haul flights for the day. The airline said the cancellations were on routes that operate multiple flights a day and that it plans to use larger planes to serve passengers. A spokeswoman said the airline did not expect long-haul flights to be cancelled.
Britain’s busiest airport said flights would be diverted around Windsor Castle in private family service.
Airlines have agreed to suspend flights arriving and departing from 11:40 a.m. GMT to 12:10 p.m. GMT to reduce noise during quiet times and arrivals from 1:45 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. Queen’s funeral procession. Departures will also be halted from 3:05pm to 4:45pm during a procession to Windsor Castle.
Virgin Atlantic also said it would cancel four flights to and from Los Angeles and San Francisco airports: two departing Sunday and two westbound on Monday.
“We apologize for any inconvenience caused and thank customers affected for their understanding on this important occasion for the UK and Commonwealth,” Virgin Atlantic said. in a statement.
