The Queen’s platinum jubilee celebrations will include a spectacular flypast that will see Spitfires and Red Arrows gracing the skies above the UK.
No fewer than 70 military aircraft from across the UK Armed Forces will soar from the North Sea over several counties across the country and over Buckingham Palace.
Thousands of spectators, including Queen Elizabeth II and other members of the royal family, are expecting to watch the dramatic flypast as they mark the 96-year-old monarch’s 70th year on the throne.
Here’s everything you need to know about what time the flypast will take place and what the route is.
Which bank holiday day is the RAF flypast?
The RAF flypast will take place on the first day of the extended jubilee bank holiday, Thursday 2 June.
What time is the RAF flypast and what is the route?
According to Military Airshows, a website that tracks airshows around the UK, the flypast will take place across nine areas around the capital.
Timings are based on estimates as they can be affected by weather conditions and the large number of aircraft that will be flying.
The aircraft are set to gather around The Wash, a bay in East Anglia, from 11.45am. There, they will do a circuit over the North Sea before flying to the north-west tip of East Anglia to head south, at about 12.15pm.
They will fly over Swaffham and Thetford in Norfolk, before heading over Ipswich and then Colchester in Essex.
Heading towards the capital, the front of the procession will begin to appear over central London between 12.40pm to 1.15pm.
Spectators gathered at Buckingham Palace can expect to see the aircraft appearing over the palace around 1pm after they form up over Stratford and Shoreditch.
The procession will then break formation and fly over south London. Residents in these areas will be able to see the planes flying overhead until about 1.30pm.
Only residents located in the very north of London, north of Finchley and Wood Green, will not see any aircraft if the route provided by Military Airshows is accurate.
After flying over London, the flypast will soar over the west of Surrey and Hampshire, Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and Buckinghamshire.
Which aircraft are taking part in the RAF flypast?
The most famous aircraft on the roya are the Red Arrows, as well as historic planes that comprised the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF).
The BBMF aircraft include and Avro Lancaster Bomber, six Spitfires, two Hurricanes, one C47 Dakota, and two Chipmunk aircraft, which are usually used for training.
