Concorde services continue after Paris meeting

British Airways confirmed this evening that its Concorde operations will continue, following today’s meeting in Paris of the airworthiness authorities of France and Britain and Concorde’s airframe and engine manufacturers.

After the meeting, the airline said: "British Airways’ first concern always is safety. All our aircraft are subject to continuing and exhaustive safety checks. We have complete confidence in our Concordes.

"No further information or facts emerged at the meeting to indicate that there is any safety, technical or operational evidence against British Airways continuing safe Concorde operations.

"We have kept in constant contact with the UK Civil Aviation Authority, the French DGAC, the aircraft’s airframe and engine manufacturers and Air France. We have had no information, today or in the past week, which leads us to believe that we should not continue to operate British Airways’ Concorde fleet."

Since Tuesday’s Air France tragedy, British Airways has implemented an extensive series of additional procedures and checks on the aircraft’s airframe, engines, tyres and wheels, hydraulics and other systems and operating procedures, above and beyond Concorde’s already demanding schedule of maintenance, inspections and operating parameters.