Witness the final commercial takeoff of Concorde from JFK Airport in gripping emotional footage

  • Concorde is still the world’s only supersonic passenger airliner
  • Concorde made its last commercial flight more than 20 years ago, on October 24, 2003
  • The flight departed New York JFK bound for London Heathrow with 100 passengers onboard

Published on Feb 14, 2024 at 6:16 PM (UTC+4)
by Adam Gray

Last updated on Feb 15, 2024 at 7:18 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by Alessandro Renesis

Once upon a time, you could fly from New York City to London at twice the speed of sound.

Onboard, you could dine on caviar and sip Champagne, all while zipping across the Atlantic Ocean in just three and a half hours.

This all came to an end 20 years ago, though, when Concorde made its final flight – marking the end of a groundbreaking chapter in aviation history.

READ MORE! Concorde simulator shows you exactly what it’d be like to fly Concorde

Thankfully, gems like this video are still here to remind us of the iconic supersonic airliner.

The clip was uploaded to Youtube by Concorde SST five years ago, although the footage was shot 15 years prior on October 24, 2003.

Concorde SST / YouTube

It was shot when Concorde made its last commercial passenger flight from JFK Airport in New York to London Heathrow.

The British Airways flight transported 100 passengers, including the late Sir David Frost, actress Joan Collins, and model Christie Brinkley.

As reported by The Guardian in 2003, only on Concorde was Paul McCartney able to lead the passengers in the impromptu signing of Beatles’ sings.

Only via Concorde could Phil Collins have performed in London and Philadelphia on the same day as part of the Live Aid concert.

Rock stars, captains of industry, and political leaders were the epitomes of Concorde.

Essentially, it was the transatlantic shuttle of the financial elite.

In the end, Concorde’s exclusive club of regular patrons gathered in the Concorde Room at New York JFK for the supersonic airliner’s final scheduled commercial flight.

According to history.com, after a farewell speech from Concorde Captain, Mike Bannister, passengers boarded BA2 bound for Heathrow for the last time.

Then in London, a huge crowd of spectators awaited the arrival of the plane, which coincided with two more final Concorde flights from Edinburgh and the Bay of Biscay.

These days, Concorde is sitting in museums all over the world.

But passenger air travel at the speed of sound may not be gone for good.

NASA is developing a passenger plane that can fly 925 mph and has reduced its sonic boom to a mere thump.

And Venus Aerospace’s Stargazer promises to reach Tokyo from New York in just one hour.

It’s predicted that commercial flights will be available in the 2030s.

Whether any of the new supersonic planes will offer caviar and Dom Perignon upon arrival like Concorde did remains to be seen.


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Adam Gray

Adam Gray is an experienced motoring journalist and content creator based in the United Kingdom. Using his media accreditation with manufacturers’ press offices, Adam test drives the latest cars and attends new vehicle press launches, producing written reviews and news pieces for supercarblondie.com. Before joining the Supercar Blondie team, Adam was Motoring Editor for Portfolio North magazine, North East Motoring Editor at Reach plc, and provided motoring content on a freelance basis to several lifestyle and business publications in the North of England. When he’s not behind the wheel of the latest car, Adam can be found at his local rink playing ice hockey or supporting his beloved Middlesbrough FC.