London airports cancel flights to avoid noise on Queen’s funeral
London airports such as Heathrow and London City are cancelling flights to avoid noise on Monday, the day of the Queen’s funeral.
Heathrow has announced it will cut 15 per cent of its daily schedule, i.e. more than 100 flights, while London City will not fly over Westminster.
The west London hub – jointly with British Airways (BA) and Virgin Atlantic – said that London’s skies will remain quiet for the two-minute silence to commemorate the monarch.
As a result of the measure, BA will axe 100 flights, both inbound and outbound, while Virgin Atlantic’s cancellations will affect four services to the US.
At both airports, all departures and arrivals will be halted for several minutes before and after the silence.
Planes will be banned from landing between 1.45pm and 2.20pm to support the procession of the Queen’s hearse while no departures will take place between 3.05pm and 4.45pm during the Long Walk ceremony.
Flights around Windsor Castle will also be diverted to reduce the noise during the Royal Family’s private service and interment.
“As a mark of respect, operations to and from the airport will be subject to appropriate changes in order to avoid noise disruption at certain locations at specific times on Monday,” the airport said in a statement on Thursday.
“Heathrow and airlines are working closely with NATS to minimise the impact of these restrictions on passengers.”
This comes on the heels of Heathrow cancelling flights yesterday to “ensure silence over central London as the ceremonial procession moves from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall”.