Concorde was retired in 2003 because it no longer made business sense. Air France and British Airways announced on 10 April 2003 that falling revenue and risin…
The two governments signed a treaty to build a supersonic airliner together. It was a state project from day one.
Test pilot Andre Turcat flew prototype 001 from Toulouse. It went supersonic for the first time that October.
British Airways flew London to Bahrain and Air France flew Paris to Rio via Dakar, on the same day. Most airline orders had been cancelled in 1973.
Noise fears kept Concorde out of JFK until the courts cleared the way. London and Paris to New York took about three and a half hours.
A metal strip dropped by another jet cut a tyre on take-off. A fuel tank ruptured and caught fire. All 109 on board and four on the ground died.
British and French regulators suspended its airworthiness certificates while fixes were developed. This grounding was temporary.
Yes. With Kevlar-lined fuel tanks and tougher tyres, both airlines flew to New York again, two months after 9/11 hit premium travel.
Falling revenue, rising maintenance costs and Airbus unwilling to support the ageing fleet. Both airlines announced the end on the same day.
Air France stopped in May. BA's last passenger flights landed at Heathrow on 24 October; G-BOAF made the final flight to Filton on 26 November.
Only 20 were built. One crashed and one was scrapped; the rest are on display, from the Smithsonian to Aerospace Bristol.
NASA's X-59 went supersonic in June 2026 and the FAA proposed replacing the overland ban with a noise limit. No supersonic airliner is in service yet.
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