Heathrow Airport Honors "May the Fourth" With 'Star Wars'-Themed Departure Schedule

For decades, one of the most iconic dates in the history of Star Wars was May 25th, which marked [...]

By Patrick Cavanaugh

For decades, one of the most iconic dates in the history of Star Wars was May 25th, which marked the anniversary of the original film's release. The rise of social media helped popularize the clever turn-of-phrase "May the Fourth Be With You" to shift the celebrations early by three weeks, with Lucasfilm themselves often getting in on the celebrations. Fans who visited London's Heathrow Airport were given another treat, as the airport displayed a fake departure schedule with multiple Easter eggs about the saga.

As seen in the photos above, the airport was detailing fictional flights to Tatooine, Hoth, and Endor. Making the joke even more hilarious is that the details about each flight includes even more references to the saga.

The flight to Alderaan, for example, was canceled, likely due to the planet getting blown up by the Death Star. Flights to both Hoth and Jakku are delayed due to snow and sand, respectively, while the flight to Kessel claims, "Flight duration now less than 12 parsecs." Fans could be a debate over whether or not the airport confused parsecs for a measurement of time instead of a measurement of distance, but we're willing to overlook that detail for the note that the transportation center will have more details on May 25th, which is when Solo: A Star Wars Story hits theaters.

The Star Wars jokes didn't stop at just the information board, as the airport also posted an image created by an augmented reality app to show their followers that an AT-M6 had arrived on the runway.

The airport itself may have misidentified the walker, claiming it to be an AT-AT that debuted in The Empire Strikes Back while we all know it is clearly an AT-M6 from The Last Jedi, yet it still made for a hilarious image.

For those concerned about how the departure screen may have impacted actual travel, the screen used for the celebration typically is only used to display information about the airport.

Fans can check out Solo: A Star Wars Story when it lands in theaters on May 25th.

What are your favorite ways of celebrating May the Fourth? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!

[H/T Twitter, HeathrowAirport]

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