Earlier this month, the last two British Airways 747s took off from London’s Heathrow airport and made short journeys across the UK to be broken down for spares. For many it was the end of an aviation era (in 1998 there were more than 1,000 747s flying) with BA alone having a fleet of more than 30 of the iconic planes.

Menzies Ultra Clean team, led by Operations Manager Tracey Cogswell, looked after the “old lady of the skies” for over two years, regularly cleaning them and bringing them back up to the high standards expected by BA and their travelling customers.

Tracey explains what was different about keeping the 747 pristinely clean; “Some of the planes were up to 30 years old and had flown thousands of miles. The darker coloured interiors could be difficult to keep clean and the planes were often very dirty after a long haul flight. It took a full eight hour shift and the Ultra team’s best efforts to keep a 747 sparkling.”

Mihaela Visan, Duty Manager, also enjoyed working on the 747s, noting however that the crew quarters on the upper deck were to clean and maintain. Sitting together in their office at Heathrow, Mihaela and Tracey reminisce about the 747 and some of the special moments they shared with British Airways and the incredible plane.

“The Dreamflight project was an absolute highlight of working with BA and the 747s,” says Tracey. ”It’s a charity-funded holiday of a lifetime for ill and disabled children and we cleaned and dressed the planes for the last two trips. The flights were laid out differently so that the children, their carers and equipment could fly comfortably and we had to adapt to that.”

Mihaela adds; “We got involved in decorating the hangar for the young people and met some of the BA management team on the day. One of them even tried to find a speck of dust on the plane…and couldn’t!”

The Ultra Clean team will miss working on the 747s, but continue to serve British Airways at London Heathrow, you can read more about the work of the Ultra Clean team here.