British Airways is retiring its entire Boeing 747 fleet immediately due to the continuing downturn in travel caused by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. 

The latest announcement meant that UK's flag carrier and the world's largest operator of these jumbo jets, is retiring all its 32, B-747 aircraft, more than three years ahead of the scheduled 2024 phase-out.

“It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect,” the airline told various media outlets. 

“It is unlikely our magnificent 'queen of the skies' will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic,” it added.

The B-747s of British Airways is its flagship aircraft for long-haul operations, servicing flights to Beijing, Boston, Cape Town, Dubai, Lagos, Las Vegas Mexico, Miami, New York, Phoenix, San Francisco and Toronto.

Shift to more modern, fuel-efficient aircraft

British Airways earlier noted that it would be turning to smaller, more modern and fuel-efficient aircraft like Boeing's 787 model and the Airbus' A350, as the industry moves to reduce carbon emission and with expectations of a slow recovery in travel demand post-pandemic. 

Bigger planes like the B-747, which relies on high passenger volumes, have also become commercially unviable under the current COVID-19 crisis as worldwide travel restrictions continue to hit air travel demand.

British Airways was earlier forced to ground most of its fleet in late March, only restarting later this month. 

“The whole airline community is reconciling itself to a bleak outlook for passenger demand. Long haul travel will take years to recover, with the major industry bodies agreeing that we will not see a return to 2019 levels until 2023 at the soonest,” the airline said. 

The coronavirus pandemic has severely battered the aviation industry with airlines currently faced with mounting financial pressure as carriers struggle to survive this crisis.