News about the death of the United Kingdom’s longest-serving monarch Queen Elizabeth II touched both British people and the world. Passengers of the country’s flag carrier British Airways were notified about the shocking news by the airline’s pilot mid-flight.
“The Queen passed away earlier today with her family by her side. I thought at the moment I should at least tell you that before you arrive at the terminal because I know many will be very, very sad about this.”
This was the announcement made by the British Airways pilot to its passengers, who were traveling on flight BA178 from New York (JFK) to London (LHR) in the evening of September 8, 2022.
One of the travelers recorded a video inside the aircraft cabin when the news was announced by the flight crew member. While some passengers and cabin crew members could not hide the instant tearful emotions and were not capable of holding tears, others were stunned to learn about the event.
“It will give you some time to reflect because we have 40 minutes before landing. We will all be thinking about her family in this time,” the pilot concluded.
“Surreal to be on a British Airways flight to London today and the pilot announced the passing of the Queen,” the passenger wrote in his post on social media.
Surreal to be on a British Airways flight to London today and the pilot announced the passing of the Queen…listen closely #QueenElizabeth pic.twitter.com/Nz1cvPHBbS
— Michael Capiraso (@mcapiraso) September 9, 2022