Heathrow to pause arrivals and departures during Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral
Flights to and from Heathrow will be halted for half an hour on Monday to ensure the two minutes’ silence at the end of Queen Elizabeth’s funeral is not disrupted by aircraft noise over London.
Britain’s main airport will also halt arrivals in the early afternoon to avoid planes coming in to land over the west of the capital during the procession of the Queen’s hearse, and stop take-offs later to not disturb the ceremonial procession to Windsor.
The changes will affect about 15% of Heathrow’s schedule, which the airport said was “equivalent to a moderate weather event”. British Airways expects to cancel about 50 flights as part of the changes.
Departure schedules will also be reduced throughout the later afternoon to minimise noise during the committal service in Windsor. Flights will also be diverted around Windsor Castle, during the private family service and interment.
Some roads around the airport will also be closed, and Heathrow urged people to use available rail links such as the Elizabeth line or tube.
Heathrow said the changes had been agreed with airlines and air traffic control service Nats, and would affect some scheduled flights, particularly in the late afternoon and early evening. Passengers whose travel plans would need to change would be notified by their airlines, it said.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “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. Heathrow and airlines are working closely with Nats to minimise the impact of these restrictions on passengers.
“Passengers affected by these changes will be contacted directly by their airlines about their travel plans and the
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