While the Queen's coffin is being transported from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where it will sit for four days before the state funeral on Monday, Heathrow has changed its flight schedule. For one hour and 50 minutes, while the procession lasted, there was complete silence over the center of London.
“Out of respect for the period of mourning after the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Heathrow will make appropriate changes to its work, &mdash ; stated in the airport statement.
Most flights between 13:50 and 15:40 on Wednesday 14 September were delayed “to ensure quiet over the center of London” as the ceremonial procession moved from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.
Passengers have been notified of all changes regarding departure and arrival times. Heathrow has already apologized for the disruption and warned of schedule shifts next Monday — the day of the queen's funeral:
“We are expecting some changes to Heathrow airport operations on Monday, September 19, when Her Majesty's funeral is due to take place, and will report on this in more detail in the coming days. We apologize for the disruption and are doing our best to limit the impact on upcoming events.
However, the biggest hurdle for passengers seeking to get to and from Heathrow on Monday will be local road closures for the duration of the funeral procession .
“Procession of Her Majesty The Queen's Coffin to St George's Chapel, Windsor on Monday 19 September will affect roads leading to Heathrow,” — says in the statement. “We encourage passengers to consider alternative routes to the airport such as the Piccadilly, Elizabeth or Heathrow Express lines.”
At the same time, UK officials have warned foreign dignitaries en route to the Queen's funeral that Heathrow will not will accept private jets. For security reasons, VIPs are asked to fly on regular passenger flights and refrain from using helicopters to minimize air traffic over the capital.