THE iconic Spitfire soared over Southampton this morning.

The aeroplane wass scheduled to leave Southampton Airport at 10am in a last minute extra flight spearheading celebrations marking the plane’s 80th anniversary.

Thousands of people were urged to look to the skies to watch the historic moment from vantage points across the county.

The flypast is one of three separate Spitfire flights planned for the next two days where four of the planes will roar over the city.

Today the iconic aeroplane will took off from the airport flanked by two helicopters and flew over the city and along the coast to Portsmouth before looping back in what was a journey of up to 40 minutes.

Two more flypasts are planned for tomorrow but due to poor weather looming on the horizon this morning’s flight was organised at the last minute.

This morning the plane headed south from the airport and over the city before flying over the docks and turning eastwards over Southampton Water and along the coast to Portsmouth where it looped back on itself and returned to the airport.

Organisers said Weston Shore, Hythe, Royal Victoria Country Park, Lee-on-Solent and Portsmouth Harbour are among the best vantage points.

The flight was being organised by Spitfire startup’ group Flying with Spitfires.

In a statement released today the group said: “Unfortunately the weather forecast for Saturday isn’t looking great so we wanted to share details of a second sortie we are flying at 10am. We’ll fly the same route as we plan to on Saturday, with two helicopters in the air to record the event for national and local television and press.”

It is the latest development in the celebrations which have featured a clash between a Southampton museum and the city's airport. 

As reported, the Southampton-based Solent Sky Museum tried to organise a Spitfire flypast involving one of the planes taking off from the airport.

When Solent Sky and the airport failed to reach agreement museum bosses took matters into their own hands and arranged for two of the famous fighter aircraft to buzz the city.

But the airport is staging its own tribute to the Spitfire.

A Spitfire will take off from the airport at 11am tomorrow weather permitting.

An aircraft will take off from the airport and fly the same route taken by the test pilot in 1936.

It will head south over the River Itchen before banking east, flying along the south coast and then turning north towards Lee-on-the-Solent and Portsmouth.

The second flypast will take place at 4pm, when two Spitfires will take off from Biggin Hill airport in Kent and head towards Southampton.

The planes will fly over the east of the city before buzzing Nursling. They will then fly towards Mayflower Park.