CONCORDE may have to leave Heathrow, its spiritual home, because British Airways is struggling to find space to put it on display.

The supersonic airliner was grounded in 2003 after nearly 30 years in service. Air France and BA sent the planes to museums and airports around the world. Six are on display in the UK and BA retained one to put on show at Heathrow.

Plans to make it the centrepiece of Terminal 5 were cancelled. It was then parked on a taxiway in view of departing and arriving flights. This spot has been lost because of work to accommodate the Airbus A380 superjumbo.

BA’s last Concorde is now parked behind its maintenance hangars at Heathrow. A plan this year to sell it to Dubai did not materialise.

The airline said: “Heathrow is the world’s most congested airport and finding a permanent location is not proving straightforward. We are looking at a number of options for the aircraft including a permanent home at Heathrow but have not made any decisions.”

BA’s Concorde fleet was based at Heathrow and the scheduled service to New York became the preferred mode of travel of the rich and famous. It was grounded by BA and Air France because of high costs.

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