Heathrow Cancels Flights for Day of Queen Elizabeth II’s Funeral

In total, about 15% of the airport’s schedule will be affected.

London’s Heathrow Airport will cancel flights on the day of Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral to avoid potential noise disturbances.

The cancellations are Heathrow’s way of “supporting the ceremonial aspects” of the queen’s funeral, which is set to take place on Sept. 19, according to an airport spokesperson. The funeral is scheduled for Westminster Abbey in downtown London with a Committal Service planned for Windsor Castle, about six miles away from the airport.

In total, about 15% of the airport’s schedule will be affected, according to the BBC, including 100 British Airways flights and four Virgin Atlantic flights.

“As a mark of respect, operations to and from the airport will be subject to appropriate changes in order to avoid noise disturbance at certain locations at specific times on Monday,” the airport shared said in a statement. “Heathrow and airlines are working closely with [air navigation service provider] NATS to minimize the impact of these restrictions on passengers. In order to observe these moments on Monday, airlines will need to adjust their schedules accordingly, which will mean some changes to flights.

Heathrow said impacted passengers will be contacted by their airlines directly.

Heathrow also warned roads around the airport would be crowded and “encouraged” passengers to “avoid traveling by car to the airport, and to use public transport instead.”

For its part, British Airways said in a statement “as the Royal Family holds Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s State Funeral, the skies around West London will be closed at certain moments of the day to reduce noise, as a mark of respect to Her Majesty. As a result, we have reduced our schedule and some flights will be re-timed to accommodate this.”

In addition to flight cancellations, the airport will observe “the National Moment of Reflection” with a  minute of silence at 8 p.m. on Sept. 18, show the funeral on airport screens on Sept. 19, and close all non-essential shops on Sept. 19.

The airport disruptions come as Heathrow has extended its cap on passengers through October

Queen Elizabeth II died on Sept. 8 at Balmoral Castle in Scotland. She was 96 years old and the longest reigning monarch in British history.