Birmingham Airport today bid a farewell to the last ever commercial DC-10 flight as it carried passengers for the very last time around the skies of Birmingham, before retiring.

More than a thousand passengers were treated to one hour ‘scenic’ flights on the DC-10 over the last three days, taking up the sights of northern England, up towards Glasgow before looping back down to Birmingham.

The very last passenger flight on the iconic Douglas DC-10 depart from Birmingham this afternoon.

The aircraft, belonging to Bangladesh’s National Flag, carrier Biman Bangladesh Airlines, was the 445th aircraft to be built out of a total of 446, with the first entering commercial service in 1971.

Birmingham Airport was chosen to host the farewell services as it will become Biman’s newest international destination in the summer when it launches twice weekly flights to Dhaka and New York JFK using brand new wide-bodied Boeing 777 aircraft.

This new long-haul operation has been made possible thanks to Birmingham’s £40 million runway extension opening in the spring.

Pictures: Darren Quinton