The final British Airways 747 has made its last ever flight.
The final flight was a mere three miles from Cardiff Airport to its new home in the Vale of Glamorgan in South Wales, where it will be preserved to inspire future generations.
Wrapped in the BOAC retro ‘Gold Speedbird’ livery to mark British Airways’ centenary in 2019, the 747, registration G-BYGC, took to the air for the final time from British Airways’ engineering base at Cardiff Airport as flight BA747P.
The aircraft flew around this scenic area of the Welsh coast before landing at the commercial airfield at Bro Tathan in the Vale of Glamorgan.
G-BYGC will be managed by eCube Solutions to showcase the pre-eminent contribution the 747 fleet made to British Airways, and the love of aviation for the passengers who flew on them.
Since entering the British Airways fleet on 20 January 1999, G-BYGC operated 11,049 flights and flew for 91,023 hours over nearly 45 million miles. Its last passenger flight was from San Francisco to Heathrow on 4 April 2020.
The last British Airways 747 took off from Heathrow on 09 October 2020.
The retirement of the British Airways 747 fleet has been brought forward several years as a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Bro Tathan Business Park is home to major companies including Aston Martin Lagonda, eCube Solutions and Bristow Helicopters. It includes a fully operational 1,800m runway on a commercial airfield operated by Cardiff Airport.
N.B. Image credit: British Airways
