British Airways BOAC-retro B747 scrapped

British Airways Boeing 747-400 G-BYGC (msn 25823), bearing the British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC)-retro livery, has been scrapped at St. Athan (United Kingdom), having arrived there on 11 December 2020.

Pictures published on X (Twitter) show the retro-liveried aircraft being scrapped, presumably by eCube, a company that has an aircraft dismantling station the airport. One of the services the company provides is the dismantling of aircraft. According to its website, British Airways is one of its strategic partners, in addition to other airlines and lessors.

British Airways retired all 31 of its Boeing 747-400s in July 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, the British carrier’s then-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Alex Cruz said that the retirement was “not how we wanted or expected to have to say goodbye to our incredible fleet of 747 aircraft”.

British Airways unveiled the BOAC-liveried Queen of the Skies in February 2019, when it arrived straight from the paint shop at London-Heathrow. Shortly after, the aircraft entered commercial service to fly between Heathrow and New York John F. Kennedy International Airport (NY). It continued to do so until 5 April 2020 when the airline moved it into storage at Heathrow.

Picture Scramble Archive: David Apps