The 747 jumbo jet will never grace the skies again in a union flag, British Airways has confirmed, announcing the immediate retirement of its Boeing 747-400 planes.

As the early effects of the pandemic became clear, BA was quick to ground its 31-strong fleet of 747s, which typically carry 345 passengers on long-haul routes, including sizeable first and business class cabins.

The downturn in travel has led BA to take what it called the “heartbreaking” decision to take the 747 out of service forever, almost 50 years after the plane first flew for BA, in its previous incarnation as the state-owned BOAC.

The company said: “It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect.

“It is unlikely our magnificent queen of the skies will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic.”

Boeing’s plane has long been arguably the most recognisable passenger plane: wider than 50 parked cars, with a tail the height of a six-storey building, with four giant engines and a signature, prominent bulge where its cabin spanned two decks towards the nose.

Loved by pilots and passengers alike, the so-called Queen of the Skies first came into passenger service in 1970, when when air travel was still a byword for glamour, and the industry’s ambitions were to go bigger, better, faster and further, in ever greater comfort. The 747 was dreamed up long before low-cost flying, in an era when the high fuel burn, thrust and noise of a giant plane had a certain prelapsarian sexiness, rather than signalling the planet-threatening catastrophe it is now known to be.

It featured a lounge on its upper deck, earning a reputation as the “club in the sky”. And the 747 and its vapour trails were immortalised in countless song lyrics over the decades, by artists from Joni Mitchell to NWA to Usher.

Even during BA’s centenary year, a 747 took pride of place in a fly-past with the Red Arrows to celebrate. But now BA will be retiring its 747-400 fleet, which arrived from 1989 and makes up about 10% of the total BA fleet, some three to four years earlier than planned.

Alex Cruz, British Airways’ chief executive, said: “This is not how we wanted or expected to have to say goodbye to our incredible fleet of 747 aircraft. It is a heartbreaking decision to have to make. So many people, including many thousands of our colleagues past and present, have spent countless hours on and with these wonderful planes.”

BA will be relinquishing its role as the world’s largest operator of 747s, as the plane has also come to be seen as a relic of aviation’s dirtier past – often cited as a worst-offending model by Heathrow when it published its league tables of the noisiest, most polluting airlines.

“We have committed to making our fleet more environmentally friendly as we look to reduce the size of our business to reflect the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on aviation,” Cruz said.

“As painful as it is, this is the most logical thing for us to propose. The retirement of the jumbo jet will be felt by many people across Britain, as well as by all of us at British Airways. It is sadly another difficult but necessary step as we prepare for a very different future.”

The 747 has had an extended lease of life for cargo, with some of its 747-8 cargo version still occasionally ordered and in production. According to data from analysts Cirium, while more than 90% of the 332 freighter 747s are flying, only 30 passenger 747s are in service, with 132 in storage. Boeing has signalled it may end production by 2022 at the latest.

A similar fate awaits the much newer A380, the Airbus superjumbo which was also grounded early during the pandemic by BA. A little over a decade old, it was designed to outstrip Boeing’s flagship aircraft. But the US manufacturer declined to take up the direct challenge, and argued that aviation would no longer be dominated by giant aircraft flying hundreds of passengers between huge hub airports. That argument appears to have been sealed for good by coronavirus.

The pandemic led BA, along with virtually all airlines, to ground most of its fleet in late March, with most passenger services only restarting this month.

Along with its sculpted, venerable planes, BA will also be shedding its multimillion-pound art collection, including work by Bridget Riley and Damien Hirst, in an attempt to raise funds. It has promised to take all measures to cut costs to face a bleaker future, after being branded a national disgrace for plans to axe up to 12,000 jobs and “fire and rehire” long-serving pilots and crew.