British Airways to cancel flights during Queen’s state funeral
British Airways is set to cancel 100 flights and reschedule others on Monday 19 September in an effort to reduce noise during Queen Elizabeth II’s state funeral and committal service. The UK carrier said in a statement that skies around West London will be closed at certain moments during the day “as a mark of respect to Her Majesty” and as a result “we have reduced our schedule and some flights will be re-timed to accommodate this”.
Roads around Heathrow will also be closed on Monday, with the airport advising travellers to use alternative routes such as the Piccadilly and Elizabeth Lines, which will be operating regular services on Monday, or Heathrow Express, which will be running additional services. Non-essential shops at the airport will be closed on Monday and the Queen’s funeral will be broadcast on screens throughout the terminals.
Other airlines have followed suite with cancelling or rescheduling flights during the Queen’s Funeral and committal service.
German government completes sale of Lufthansa shareholding
The German government has sold its remaining stake in Lufthansa to investors meaning that the airline group is now “fully back in private hands”. Lufthansa received a €9 billion rescue package from the German government’s Economic Stabilisation Fund (WSF) in May 2020 as the Covid-19 pandemic left the airline group struggling to survive. This funding agreement included the government taking a 20 per cent stake in Lufthansa.
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