London's busiest airport is reducing its flight schedule to 'ensure silence' for the Queen's funeral

• London Heathrow Airport plans to adjust its schedule to 'ensure silence' during the Queen's funeral.
• The airport said in a statement that changes during the mourning period were out of respect.

London's Heathrow Airport is planning to reduce its flight schedule to ensure that noise from departing planes does not interrupt the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

"To ensure silence during HMQ's State Funeral, including over Westminster Abbey and Windsor Castle, there may be flight changes on Monday, 19 September 2022," Heathrow said in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

The airport said it would be making appropriate alterations throughout the period of national mourning, out of respect for the Queen, who died on September 8, aged 96. Further changes will be communicated over the coming days, the statement said.

Some airlines, including Finland's national carrier, Finnair, have already restricted ticket sales to and from the hub on the day of the funeral, The Points Guy first reported.

A spokesperson for Finnair told Insider that the airline felt it "prudent" to close sales until it received more information in order to minimize the impact on customers. The spokesperson confirmed that at least two flights have been canceled.

Heathrow's tweaked schedule is one of a number of changes being made on Britain's transport network in the lead-up to the Queen's funeral.

Transport workers have canceled long-planned strikes, while rail companies are laying on new trains and extending services as they brace to deal with thousands, potentially millions, of mourners flocking into the capital city during the national mourning period.

Airspace below 2,500 feet over both the capital and Windsor has been closed to most aircraft by the UK's flight regulator until at least the morning of the funeral.

On Wednesday, Heathrow temporarily adjusted flights while a ceremonial procession carried the Queen's coffin from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Hall.

Some flights departing Edinburgh airport were canceled on Tuesday, to ensure that the RAF plane bearing the Queen's coffin could depart safely. Around 4.79 million tracked the flight to London, making it the most watched flight in history, according to FlightRadar24.

Heathrow is the busiest two-runway airport in the world. Most flights into the hub — around 70% — operate westerly, meaning aircraft landing at Heathrow come from the east, which takes them directly over central London.

However, if the wind is blowing from the east, planes descend into the airport from the west, a path that takes them over Windsor and the royal residence at Windsor Castle.