The UK's first and only supersonic airliner, Concorde, will make its last flight at the end of October.

British Airways (BA) and Air France, the only two carriers operating the aircraft, have decided that their continued use in service is no longer financially viable.

Demand for travel on Concorde never recovered after the crash of an Air France version near Paris in 2000. Despite more than £17m being spent on safety modifications to the aircraft, the aftermath of 11 September, the global economic slowdown and fears of terrorism have seen a marked drop in bookings.

A number of technical problems have also affected sentiment amongst travellers and maintenance costs on the futuristic aircraft are high in comparison with other airliners.

BA operates five Concordes and Air France four and a gradual phasing out of services by both is expected. The aircraft first went into commercial service nearly 30 years ago.