A British Airways Boeing 747 is arriving in Manchester

If you’re taking to the motorway on Thursday morning you may spot something a bit different among the usual traffic as the top deck of a Boeing 747 makes its final journey to Manchester. This piece of aviation history will be transported from Kemble, on the edge of the Cotswolds to Barton City Airport in Salford, arriving at around 2pm in the afternoon.

Leaving Kemble at 9.30am, it will make its way to its new home along the M5, M6, M56 and M60, so keep your eyes peeled if you’re on the road. Once it arrives in Manchester, it’s set to become a new tourist attraction.

Named ‘The Deck’, it will be used for educational and leisure purposes, allowing people to get up close to this celebrated plane. It was saved from scrappage by local airline memorabilia company Doors2Manual.

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Fans will be able to track the plane’s journey to Manchester by checking a dedicated Instagram account @thedeck747, as well as their Facebook page. Live updates will be shared throughout with the plane set to arrive by early afternoon.

Doors2Manual plan to use The Deck as a unique backdrop for weddings and conferences. It will also be the UK’s only 747 flight simulator using a real aircraft flight deck.

The 747 is a much-loved plane in the aviation industry. But due to the Covid-19 pandemic the final 38 were sent for early retirement. British Airways scrapped all 31 of its 747s – 10% of its entire fleet, while Virgin Atlantic put its last seven of the iconic aircraft out to pasture.

Another 747 has previously gone on to be used as a prop in Star Wars, while others have been reconfigured for cargo. More are destined to end up in aeroplane ‘boneyards’ in desert