British Airways and Virgin Atlantic have put rivalry aside and synchronised the take-off of their first flights to the US in almost 20 months.

From today, fully vaccinated international tourists, including Brits, will be able to visit the US after it reopened the borders it shut in March 2020.

The rare event will see the two aircraft make a ‘synchronised departure on parallel runways at Heathrow’, the airlines said in a joint statement.

BA flight BA001 – the number usually reserved for Concorde flights – and Virgin flight VS3 departed at 8.50am  from Heathrow in the first ever dual take-off of its kind.

BA Chief Executive Sean Doyle said: “After more than 600 days of separation, today is our moment to celebrate the UK-US reopening.”

Virgin CEO Shai Weiss added: “Today is a time for celebration, not rivalry. Together with British Airways we are delighted to mark today’s important milestone, which finally allows consumers and businesses to book travel with confidence.”