London (AFP)

The British airline British Airways announced Friday the withdrawal of Boeing 747 "Jumbo Jet" from its fleet after the epidemic of coronavirus which has shaken the air transport sector, forced to carry out a drastic austerity course.

"It is with great sadness that we can confirm the fact that we are going to withdraw our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect," the company said in a statement sent to AFP.

"Our magnificent" Queen of Heaven "is unlikely to be operated again by British Airways given the reduced travel caused by the global Covid-19 pandemic," she added.

The last 747 was to be withdrawn from the fleet "in 2024," BA said.

Launched in 1970 by the American manufacturer Boeing, the "Jumbo Jet" revolutionized the air transport market and became in the decades that followed a legendary aircraft capable of carrying 400 passengers on board.

With 31 "Jumbos" in its fleet, British Airways stated in its press release that it was the airline that continued to operate the most with this aircraft.

The entire aviation sector was hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought an abrupt halt to activity due to containment measures taken by many countries to try to curb the spread of the virus.

The companies expect that the traffic starts again slowly this summer and is depressed for several years, which leads them to cures of austerity.

British Airways, which belongs to the IAG group, has announced the loss of 12,000 jobs, more than a quarter of its workforce.

- "Tired" -

His decision to do without the "Jumbo Jet" is a new sign of the end of the era of very large aircraft.

Deemed unprofitable by airlines, the A380, the flagship of Airbus whose end of production was announced in February 2019, also sees its end of life accelerated by the coronavirus crisis and the collapse of traffic. air.

After the German company Lufthansa which indicated at the beginning of April that it intended to withdraw from its fleet its six A380s, it was Air France which announced that it would stop operating its nine aircraft, which was initially planned for the end of 2022 .

And if the most important operator of the "Super Jumbo" which had been thought as the successor to the 747, the Emirates company, has not indicated what it intends to do with its 115 A380, its president Tim Clark affirmed that with the A380 pandemic was "over".

CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson said, "Admittedly, a number of British Airways 747s were tired" and were no longer "up to current standards for more modern A380s."

"The decision (from British Airways) was therefore probably necessary, given the age of its fleet and environmental requirements," he added.

"The Covid-19 is the most dramatic event in aviation history, and the companies concluded in a few weeks after the start of the pandemic that large and ineffective aircraft would hinder their efforts to regain profitability, with too many empty seats to fill, too much fuel, "said aviation analyst Alex Macheras.

"New, lighter, smaller, economical and ecological models like the A350 are crucial for airlines to adapt to this new era and we are therefore seeing similar replacement decisions by carriers around the world", a- he added.

On the London Stock Exchange, the parent company of British Airways, IAG, lost 3.53% at the start of trade at 216.30 pence.

© 2020 AFP