Coronation flyover may not go ahead

The coronation flypast might have to be scaled back or cancelled.

The Ministry of Defence said that owing to the poor weather forecast for Saturday the flypast may not go ahead or will at least be scaled back.

Due to be included in the flypast of 60 aircraft are a Battle of Britain memorial flight, the Red Arrows and F-35s and Typhoons.

People who line the street and the royal family on the balcony at Buckingham Palace traditionally watch the flyover as it roars over Pall Mall in London.

But the weather forecast for Saturday is wet and cloudy which could make flying conditions hazardous.

An MoD spokesperson said, “There are certain weather limits in terms of cloud base and visibility for a flypast involving a large number of aircraft which will need to be met.”

“The latest weather information will be obtained from both the Met Office and from our helicopters performing weather checks in advance of the main flypast on Saturday.”

“If suitable, the flypast will go ahead as planned. If not, then there are options available to reduce the numbers of aircraft, with cancellation being the last resort.”

“Clearly there are many things the MoD does control, but the weather is not one of them. Safety will always be our primary concern.”

The Met Office forecasts rain in London coming around lunchtime.

The same thing happened at the Queen’s coronation in June 1953. Bad weather meant the flypast was threatened, but luckily the weather improved, and the flypast went ahead.