British Concorde fans warned to stay at home
( 2003-10-23 10:42) (Xinhua)
 London police have told people wanting to see Concorde's
last flight on Friday to stay away from Heathrow airport, warning that the final
commercial flight could cause traffic chaos on several key routes on the
outskirts of the British capital.
Concorde sightseers are expected to cause heave traffic delays as they gather
to watch Captain Mike Bannister land the aircraft for the last time on a
commercial flight on 24 October. The enthusiastic supporters of Concorde are
most likely to mix with Friday night commuter traffic and holidaymakers heading
off for the autumn half-term holidays.
Scotland Yard and BAA - the company that runs Heathrow - say the west London
airport is not big enough to handle the extra people during a school holiday
period, stressing there are only very limited viewing facilities on the north
side of the airport and the general public should not expect to be accommodated
by turning up on the day.
"The public are reminded that the best view of the finale will be on their
television sets at home," said a BAA spokesman. The event will be televised live
in Britain.
The Anglo-French jet dubbed "Speedbird One" by controllers, the only
supersonic passenger aircraft in the world, will on Friday retire from service
after 27 years in service across the Atlantic. A fall in passenger numbers and
high maintenance costs have been blamed for the decision by BA and Air France to
retire the aircraft.
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