21 - Mourning a Monarch: Silencing the skies for the State Funeral of The Queen

NATS Altitude

As the world mourned the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, plans for the first state funeral of a British monarch in more than 70 years were being put into action.

As a mark of respect, it was agreed that aircraft would not overfly the funeral or procession from Central London to Windsor Castle - a period of over nine hours via a route just a few metres from Britain’s busiest airport, Heathrow.

What followed were 10 days of incredibly intense preparation, as teams from across NATS, Heathrow Airport and the airlines worked to create a minute-by-minute plan. The aim was to deliver respectful silence while keeping the airport open and the disruption for passengers to an absolute minimum.

Join our panel of Kathryn Leahy, Team Heathrow Director, and Pete Glass, NATS General Manager Air Traffic Services, Heathrow, along with host, Ady Dolan, NATS Heathrow Air Traffic Controller and Head of Training, to hear the quite remarkable, untold story of how the industry came together to deliver one of the most complex, intricate, and ambitious civil air traffic operations in decades.

You can also watch an on demand version of the livestream on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@NatsAero