The coronation flypast is at risk of being scaled back or cancelled because of poor weather forecast for Saturday, the Ministry of Defence has said.
A tri-service, six-minute flypast of 60 aircraft, including the Battle of Britain memorial flight, the Red Arrows, modern F-35s and Typhoons, is planned as a finale to the coronation day celebrations.
The newly crowned king and queen, along with other members of the royal family, are expected to watch it from the Buckingham Palace balcony as it roars over the crowds of well-wishers on the Mall.
However, forecasters expect conditions in London will be cloudy and wet on Saturday, which could hamper the ability of pilots to fly safely.
Asked about the potential for the flypast to be disrupted by the weather, an MoD spokesperson told the PA news agency: “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 continue 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 expects Saturday to be a “cloudy, wet day” across large parts of the UK, with rain falling on London “by around lunchtime”.
There were fears the flypast for the late queen’s coronation in June 1953 would be called off because of bad weather, but conditions improved and it went ahead at 5.15pm after a delay.
