Airports, retailers and travel retail and duty free industry stakeholders in the UK and around the world have shared tributes to Her Majesty the Queen upon her passing.

Queen Elizabeth II, the UK’s longest-serving monarch, died peacefully at Balmoral on Thursday 8 September 2022 aged 96.

Her son King Charles III is now the nation’s reigning monarch. The nation has entered into a period of mourning.

Heathrow Airport, home to The Queen’s Terminal (Terminal 2), shared a heartfelt message along with an archive photograph capturing Her Majesty visiting the Queen’s Building.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “All of us at Heathrow are saddened to hear that Her Majesty the Queen has passed away. We offer our condolences to the Royal Family, the British public and the nations of the Commonwealth at this time.

“We’re thankful to have shared many key milestones with Queen Elizabeth II during her life, including welcoming her warmly in 1952 when she arrived back from Kenya as our Queen. The world has lost an irreplaceable person and our country, one of its greatest.”

Condolences flood in

Tourvest Retail Services said in a statement on LinkedIn: “We are deeply saddened to learn the passing of HRH Queen Elizabeth II. We send our heartfelt thoughts and sympathies to the Royal Family and all those closest to her at the time.”

 

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Gatwick Airport shared an impactful message expressing the hub’s ‘great sadness’ regarding the news.

 

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Retailer World Duty Free conveyed “sincere and heartfelt condolences to the Royal Family for their loss”.

 

 

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British Airways published a selection of treasured photographs and expressed thanks to Her Majesty for a lifetime of service.

 

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Dubai Duty Free was graced with The Queen’s presence on occasion through the travel retailer’s long-standing association with the sport of horse racing, which Her Majesty had a particular fondness for during her reign.

She was a frequent visitor to the Spring Trials weekend staged annually at Newbury Racecourse in April.

The Queen enjoyed a number of winners at the Berkshire course including when her homebred ‘Call To Mind’, trained by William Haggas and ridden by Ryan Moore, won the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships Maiden Stakes on 22 April 2017.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and to the nation,” commented Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO, Dubai Duty Free. “Myself and my wife Breeda were honoured to have met Her Majesty on a number of occasions, at the Dubai Duty Free Spring Trials Weekend and we were also guests at a dinner at Windsor Castle to celebrate the 300th anniversary of Ascot Racecourse in 2011, while the following year I had the opportunity, along with my colleagues Salah (tahlak) and Sinead (el Sibai), to present her with a bronze sculpture of the Darley Arabian on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee.

“When you met her, she had a remarkable ability to put you completely at ease and she asked you relevant questions. Her passion for horses was very evident when she was at Newbury and we were delighted when she had a winner in 2017, she could not contain her excitement at that.”

Reims-based Champagne Lanson, the holder of a Royal Warrant since 1900, posted a statement on LinkedIn that read: “Champagne Lanson is deeply saddened by the news of the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and wishes to extend its deepest condolences to His Majesty King Charles III, The Queen Consort and Royal Family.”

This is an update of an article originally published on Friday 9 September.

Lead image source: Shutterstock/Shaun Jeffers.