The NHS Spitfire had to turn back today before flying over York Hospital.
Doctors, nurses and members of the general public had gathered outside ready for the flypast of the iconic Second World War aircraft, which was due at 10.55am this morning (Wednesday).
However the cloud cover got the better of the operation.
The Spitfire, emblazoned with the words ‘Thank U NHS’ on its wings, set off from Duxford at 10am as planned.
It was due to fly over several Yorkshire hospitals, including Friarage at Northallerton and Harrogate, as well as York, in a unique tribute to health workers.
But the low cloud forced it to turn back to base.
In a post on Facebook, the owners of the Spitfire, the Aircraft Restoration Company, said: “The NHS Spitfire is now back at Duxford.
“Due to unexpected low cloud and poor visibility over the North East today we are going to be flying a reduced route which we will publishing here as soon as possible.
“For those waypoints that we cannot make it over today, we will be postponing these into a separate flight route to be flown at a later date.”
Read more about the mission, and find out how to donate to a fund for NHS Charities Together here.