Queen Elizabeth’s final trip is most tracked flight in history

A man sits next to a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in central London, on Sept 13, 2022. The journey carrying the late monarch’s body from Edinburgh to London became the most tracked flight in history. — AP

Just over five million people viewed Queen Elizabeth’s final flight on Sept 13, as the journey carrying the late monarch’s body from Edinburgh to London became the most tracked flight in history.

Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said a total of 4.79 million people watched the flight live online, with a further quarter of million people watching on its YouTube channel.

The company said an unprecedented six million people tried to follow the flight within the first minute of the Boeing C17A Globemaster turning on its transponder at Edinburgh’s airport, affecting the stability of the platform.

“Seventy years after her first flight as Queen aboard the BOAC Argonaut ‘Atalanta’, Queen Elizabeth II’s final flight is the most tracked flight in Flightradar24 history,” Flightradar24 Director of Communications said in an email.

Elizabeth, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died in Balmoral, Scotland on Sept 8. Her funeral will take place on Sept 19.

Flightradar24 said the flight was more than twice the previous record of 2.2 million – when US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi flew on a controversial visit to Taiwan in August. – Reuters