Rescue airlines have begun dismantling Boeing 747s in the Gloucestershire countryside as British Airways withdraws its entire fleet of 31 giant passenger aircraft amid a dive into global air travel.
The 4 aircraft, G-BYGF, G-CIVL, G-CIVL and G-CIVN, are being dismantled and dismantled through a specialized Air Salvage International (ASI) team at Cotswold Airport, on the outskirts of Kemble, while the coronavirus pandemic continues.
Photographs showed that the engines of some of the 747-400 had been removed from the former Royal Air Force site, which also houses various flight schools and was once the basis of the red arrows.
This week, the G-BYGF, BA’s fourth plane to retire in Kemble, landed in front of a planepotters organization that flew a 24-minute flight from London Heathrow and a village circuit around Kemble.
BA is abandoning all 747 aircraft amid an ongoing air crisis after severe restrictions were imposed around the world when the Covid-19 crisis intensified in Europe in March.
Photographs taken yesterday show the engines on some British Airways 747-400s have been removed at Cotswold Airport
Four British Airways 747-400 are stored at the airport near Kemble in Gloucestershire after being removed via BA
All four aircraft are discarded and dismantled through an Air Salvage International team at Cotswold Airport.
BA withdraws all 747 aircraft amid ongoing air crisis after serious global restrictions
The jets are shipped internationally for their garage and disposal, and the G-CIVD departed Heathrow before this month for Castellón in Spain. Seven members of BA’s fleet at Heathrow, where the Kemble aircraft was based.
Fourteen of BA’s fleet are stored 70 miles away at Cardiff Airport, adding one with the historic Boac livery (British Overseas Airways Corporation) which was the airline’s predecessor.
BA, which is the world’s largest operator of the Boeing 747, described the 747-400 as an ‘extremely reliable’ performance enhancer that has the highest reliability and incorporated primary aerodynamic innovations over the latest 747 models, which have a 50-year history.
The life of the aircraft began in April 1970 when BOAC, which would later merge with BEA to shape the airline today, received its first Boeing 747-100, which the 23 built through Boeing, according to its line number.
The BOAC then received 14 more aircraft over the next 3 years, and the aircraft was delivered in December 1973.
A Boeing 747 wide-body passenger aircraft for BOAC – British Overseas Airways Corporation flying over the UK on 7 April 1971
None of those early models fly today. Most were discarded, a handful of them were stored and BA’s first 747 left the fleet in October 1998, aviation editor Simple Flying reports.
Following the merger of BOAC and BEA, all 15 Boeing 747s were transferred to British Airways on 1 April 1974. BA received 4 747-100, bringing the total length of the fleet to 19.
On 18 February 1991, the British Airways Boeing 747-100 was destroyed in Kuwait during the Gulf War, and the only BA 747-100 that was affected by a loss of helmet was left to the airline.
BA won its first Boeing 747-200 on June 22, 1977, and the airline continued to operate a total of 24 747-200 passengers that were delivered between 1977 and 1988. No British Airways 747-200 worried about the loss of the hull while with the airline.
The Boeing 747-400 is the most familiar BA style today, and is the only guy still in service with British Airways today. Ba’s first 747-400 was delivered in June 1989 and flew with the standard-bearer for about 30 years.
British Airways has announced that its fleet of Boeing 747 aircraft, affectionately known as the ‘Queen of Heaven’, would most likely have flown its last scheduled advertising service.
The airline operated a total of 57 Boeing 747-400s, ESO BA operated 100,747 passengers and a 747 cargo ship. The 747-400 was delivered for ten years until April 1999, so the youngest ba aircraft is 21 years old.
But the Queen of Heaven will cease to be the red, white and blue of The Union Jack after British Airways withdrew its Fleet of Boeing 747s in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
The airline, the world’s largest operator of the 747-400, had already planned to install its fleet of 31 of the iconic wide-body aircraft until 2024.
But the pandemic, which saw the world’s maximum stranded during the 3-month component, has accelerated its adventure into retirement, especially as meteorologists expect the number of passengers to remain below normal, potentially in the coming years.
BA’s predecessor, BOAC, had first used the 747 in 1971 and, as with many airlines, the aircraft, affectionately known as the ‘jumbo jet’ or the ‘queen of heaven’, has become a symbol of the new era of mass for all. and every corner of the globe.
A BA Boeing 747 flies along red arrows the Royal International Air Tattoo in Fairford, Gloucestershire, July 2019
Its days, however, have been counted with the softness of new modern and energy-efficient aircraft such as the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787.
There have been more than 1,500 jumbos produced through Boeing, and this has been a good advertising fortune for the manufacturer and airlines.
But its heyday is in the afterlife and any view of the jet, with its unique blow on top, is now a rarity. It is believed that only 30 aircraft are in service lately, with 132 in stock.
The British Airways 747-400 has a capacity of 345 passengers and can reach a maximum speed of 614 mph.
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Edited through Associated Newspapers Ltd
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