Flights from Heathrow will be disrupted over the coming days as airport bosses try to ensure no noise from aircraft landing and taking off disrupt events following the Queen's death.
The Queen's coffin is due to be transported on Wednesday from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall, where she will lie in state until her funeral on Monday.
The short journey is under Heathrow's flight path, prompting the decision to disrupt flights between 1.50pm and 3.40pm on Wednesday.
A statement posted on the airport's official social media platforms said: "Out of respect for the period of mourning following the passing of Her Majesty The Queen, some flights between 13:50–15:40 on Wed 14 Sept will be disrupted to ensure silence during the ceremonial procession.
“Airlines will notify passengers directly of any flight changes.
“We anticipate further changes to the Heathrow operation on Mon 19 Sept, when Her Majesty’s funeral is due to take place.
“We will communicate more details over the coming days. We apologise for the disruption caused, as we work to limit the impact on the upcoming events."
My London reports that further changes to the airport operation will be communicated in full over the coming days and disruption to local roads around the airport in the lead up to the Queen's funeral on September 19.
Airlines are emailing passengers already booked on any flight expected to be amended and Heathrow is advising passengers to use the Piccadilly line, Elizabeth line or Heathrow Express to avoid delays on roads.
Disruption is also expected at Heathrow on the day of Elizabeth II's state funeral.
Once the main funeral service is over at lunchtime in central London, the Queen's coffin will travel past the airport to go to Windsor where she will be buried alongside the late Duke of Edinburgh in a private ceremony.
The route between Central London and Windsor is almost entirely underneath the east-west axis of the flight path used by planes landing and taking off from Heathrow's runways.
To make matters even more complicated, the runways are usually switched over at 3pm each day, the time when the procession is expected to be nearby to the airport.
Other airports are unlikely to be affected as they use different flight paths.
London City Airport, which has a similar path over central London, has not announced the same measures as planes which fly there tend to be smaller and less noisy.
