The giant jet that has been compared to the Parthenon, name-checked in a Joni Mitchell song and nicknamed Queen of the Skies is flying off into the sunset.

The last Boeing 747 is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday after a ceremony at the US company’s factory in Washington state, to cargo carrier Atlas Air. The plane, when it was introduced at the Paris Air Show in 1969, captured the spirit of the jet age and through its capacity, efficiency and range helped make commercial flight affordable to the masses.

“It democratised air travel,” said Boeing corporate historian Michael Lombardi. “The 747 shrank the world.”

Over five decades Boeing built 1,574 747s for more than 100 customers. The tail is as tall as a six-story building, and it travels the length of three soccer fields per second. The largest version could transport more than 500 passengers.

Boeing has cut back production of the four-engine 747 for years. The market gradually shifted to favour more efficient twin-engined jets for even the longest routes, after aviation regulators approved such aircraft for transatlantic flight in the 1980s. Boeing delivered the last 747 designed to carry passengers to Korean Air in 2017, though the ability to load cargo through the plane’s nose kept carriers ordering freighters for longer.

Yet Boeing continued to produce the jets, largely because of a…