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Wales Online
Wales Online
Entertainment
Cathy Owen

Coronation flypast route and timings: When and where you can see the Red Arrows this weekend

It is a big moment many will be waiting for during the King's coronation - the Red Arrows flypast over Buckingham Palace always amazes, even if Prince Louis found them a little too loud during the Jubilee celebrations last year.

There is a plan for a flypast on the afternoon of Saturday, May 6, but the Ministry of Defence has already warned that it might have to be scaled back, or even cancelled in poor weather.

Forecasters expect conditions in London to be cloudy and wet on Saturday, which could hamper the ability of pilots to fly safely. You can find the coronation weekend forecast here.

Read more: King Charles coronation 2023 in Wales: Key dates, events and plans to celebrate

More than 60 aircraft from the Royal Navy, British Army and Royal Air Force - including the Red Arrows - are scheduled to fly over The Mall and Buckingham Palace at around 2.15pm.

The King and Queen Consort are due to appear on the Palace balcony with other members of the royal family to watch the six-minute flypast.

It is due to include the world-famous Red Arrows, 16 helicopters, the historic Spitfires of the RAF Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, the RAF's brand-new P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft.

Prince Louis reacts to the Platinum Jubilee flypast (PA)

The route will take the planes over parts of Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex on the way to London before heading out of the capital towards Surrey, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire as they disperse.

According to FlightRadar24 it will be easy to track the flypast on their website, by selecting ‘Military and Government’ under categories.

They say: "Selecting ‘Military and Government’ under categories will filter your view to display these aircraft. Take a look at the Greater London area and you should see the flypast routing in from East to West.

"For an even more detailed view, head to custom filters, and select ‘aircraft type’."

The plans are all in place, but the weather could cause an issue. Asked about the potential for the flypast to be disrupted by the weather, an MoD spokesman told the PA news agency: "There are certain weather limits in terms of cloud base and visibility for a flypast involving a large number of aircraft which will need to be met.

"The latest weather information will be obtained from both the Met Office and from our helicopters performing weather checks in advance of the main flypast on Saturday.

"If suitable, the flypast will continue as planned. If not, then there are options available to reduce the numbers of aircraft, with cancellation being the last resort. Clearly there are many things the MoD does control, but the weather is not one of them. Safety will always be our primary concern."

The decision on whether to go ahead with the flypast can be made by the RAF's Air Vice-Marshal Mark Flewin, Air Officer Commanding No 1 Group, or the aircraft pilots. The Met Office expects Saturday to be a "cloudy, wet day" across large parts of the UK, with rain falling on London "by around lunchtime".

There were fears the flypast for the late Queen's coronation in June 1953 would be called off due to bad weather, but after conditions improved it went ahead at 5.15pm after a delay.

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