The British bid their final farewell to Queen Elizabeth II this Monday, September 19.
To avoid noise pollution during the funeral and "
as a sign of respect
" for the monarch, London-Heathrow airport, the main airport in the British capital, on Thursday called on airlines to reduce their flight plan by 15%, which translates into the cancellation of around a hundred flights today.
British Airways has thus canceled around fifty short-haul flights, while Virgin Atlantic has canceled four long-haul flights to and from the United States.
“
Passengers affected by these changes will be contacted directly by their airlines about their travel plans and the options available to them
,” the airport said in a statement.
Read alsoElizabeth II, queen and globetrotter
Rejected take-offs and landings
To ensure calm skies, no air movement (take-off or landing) is permitted between 11:40 a.m. and 12:10 p.m., when the funeral service begins at Westminster Abbey during which a two-minute silence will be observed.
"
If you are at Heathrow today, we will be broadcasting Her Majesty's funeral and invite you to join us in observing a two minute silence at the end of the ceremony
," the airport said in a tweet.
Interruptions will also take place between 1:45 p.m. and 2:20 p.m. at the start of the procession, then between 3:05 p.m. and 4:45 p.m. when it approaches Windsor Castle, about thirty kilometers from the capital.
In addition, flights will be slightly diverted to avoid flying over this castle, where the queen will be buried at 8:30 p.m.
/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/prisa/Z62K2RLCIVG7TKDLGKZXZSMWY4.jpg)
