The 2024 air show season in Europe is drawing closer and it is perfect time for our second part of news and updates related to aviation events planned for this year. Our first article within this series was concluded with air shows scheduled for mid-June, so here are a few lines about the middle of the season.
It looks like the second part of June already brings several interesting aviation events to take place in the north of Europe and in Poland. The week after the Danish Air Show we have mentioned in our previous article, aviation enthusiasts are welcomed in Western Norway, at the two-day event called Sola Airshow 2024.
The show will take place at Stavanger Airport on 15th and 16th of June. It will include several flying displays of modern and historical aircraft, including JAS 39 Gripen, F-16 Fighting Falcon, C-17 Globemaster III, P-51D Mustang, Spitfire, Bü 131 Jungmann and MiG-15UTI. In addition, a KC-135 Stratotanker was announced the highlight of the static display, as well as an aerobatic show of the RAF Red Arrows team.
Yet in the same week of June, two more shows are planned to take place in the Baltic area. They are the Baltic International Airshow that will be organized at Liepāja International Airport in Latvia and the Vaasa Airshow that will take place at Vaasa Airport in Finland. The first of those two events already promises about six hours of flying displays, although no further details were disclosed yet. The event in Finland will celebrate the 90th anniversary of Vaasa Flying Club and will be the largest aviation event in the country this year. There were only two participants of the show disclosed so far, and they are Woikoski Safirs team and Pitts S-1SS aerobatic biplane.
Świdnik Air Festival in Poland is another aviation event to be held on 15th and 16th June. The show will be connected with the 70th anniversary of granting the municipal rights to Świdnik, although there are no more details about the event yet.
One week later, on 21st and 22nd of June, one of the newest aviation shows in Poland will take place. It means the Antidotum Airshow in Leszno that was for the first time organized in 2020. The initial idea behind the event was to create an aviation antidote to coronavirus restrictions and limitations. Shortly after, the air show turned into one of the most popular aviation events in the central part of Europe, mainly due to its evening displays.
During the same week – on 22nd June, to be exact – AirShow Žamberk is planned to be held in the Czech Republic. The event is organized by Žamberk aero club at its airfield, located in the Eastern Bohemia, Pardubice Region. The first edition of the show took place in 2010 and, since then, the event is being held every two years (excluding the coronavirus break).
Certainly, the events organized by aero clubs cannot offer similar kind of flying displays as huge, commercial air shows tend to. However, it does not mean the local shows are lacking exciting moments and perfect atmosphere. The list of already disclosed participants of this year´s edition include Martin Šonka´s aerobatic show with Extra 300SR, Bü 131 Jungmann and Boeing PT-17 Stearman, as well as the Great War show performed by Pterodactyl Flight.
July will be marked with two interesting events to be held in the United Kingdom. The first of them is 2024 Battle of Britain Airshow. The event is planned to take place on 5th to 7th July at Headcorn Aerodrome. A few days ago, the organizers of the show disclosed the RAF Red Arrows as the first participant of the event. However, at this moment there are no more details about the show and its flying displays.
The next event we would like to mention here is the one that needs no specific introduction. The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is one of the most recognized and most popular aviation events in the world, usually visited by tens of thousands of spectators every year. This time, the RIAT is planned to take place between 19th and 21st July. Organizers of the show are currently in the process of announcing its participants, therefore we recommend to follow the RIAT official accounts in social media for further details.
Speaking of July, we would like to point out another two events that are going to take place in Poland – Piotrków Fly Fest 2024 and Nowotarski Piknik Lotniczy. Both events are scheduled on the same dates, 6th and 7th July 2024. However, neither their participants nor any details regarding this year´s edition of both shows were disclosed so far.
The first weekend of August will be marked by another aviation event organized in the Czech Republic. Legendy Nebes – Legends of the Sky show, we mean here, is one of the newest air shows in Europe, as it had its premiere only last year. Regrettably, the first edition was strongly affected by severe weather conditions that prevented the show from making a lasting impression.
Nevertheless, we are glad that the organizers of Legendy Nebes air show did not give up and are returning with the show in 2024. The list of already disclosed participants includes Extra 300SR (Martin Šonka), PBY-5A Catalina ´Miss Pick Up´, OV-10B Bronco, Aero L-29 Delfín and P-51D Mustang, as well as aircraft from the Flying Bulls collection of Hangar 7 and the Flying Bulls Aerobatics Team.
Regrettably, we have to conclude this part of the air show updates with some cancellations.
Already in January of 2024, the Swiss Federal Department of Defence, Civil Protection and Sport (DDPS) announced that some of the major military events planned in the country for 2024 and 2025 had to be cancelled, due to difficult financial situation.
It included AirSpirit24, an air show being held every ten years to celebrate the jubilee of the Swiss Air Force. The 2024 edition of the event had to be held in Emmen and preparations were already under way. Therefore, the DDPS decision was received with sorrow, by both the organizational team and general public. Especially that this year is marked by the 110th anniversary of the Swiss Air Force and the 60th jubilee of Patrouille Suisse aerobatic team.
A few days ago, we have informed about the official inauguration of the 60th diamond season of the RAF Red Arrows. This year, the British national aerobatic team is also going to visit Canada, within the Maple Hawk 2024 tour. The journey is focused on supporting the centennial of the Royal Canadian Air Force and will take place in August and September of 2024.
However, information about the Canadian tour immediately caused cancellation of a few traditional British aviation events, where the RAF Red Arrows were initially scheduled to perform at. The list includes Folkestone Air Display, Sidmouth Air Show and Rhyl Air Show – organizers of all those events already announced that cancellation of the RAF Red Arrow display forced their decision.
Certainly, all those aviation events have a lot more to offer for any aviation enthusiast, nevertheless it is general public that makes up the majority of any air show visitors. For them, such aerobatic teams as the RAF Red Arrows are the main – if not only – reason to visit the event. And with perspective of significantly less visitors to come, there is usually no point to hold a locally organized air show.
More information about the European aviation events planned for the closing part of the season, as well as some additional updates, will be included in the next part of our 2024 air show news and updates series.
