As the weather warms up and we move into the summer season, Britain’s iconic Red Arrows display team are gearing up for a series of stunning displays and flypasts at airshows and events across the country.
The RAF Aerobatic Team are set to wow fans with their incredible acrobatic moves and take part in flypasts for major events such as the King’s official birthday and Edinburgh’s Military Tattoo. The team began training for the season last year, with their winter training typically lasting from October or November to mid-March or early April.
Then the team move abroad to take advantage of more stable and predictable weather in Exercise Springhawk. During this time, they are assessed by senior Royal Air Force officers, hoping to be granted Public Display Authority.
If successful, the pilot’s change from green coveralls into their iconic red flying suits and ground crew swap to royal blue display coveralls. Meanwhile, it’s also been revealed that the Red Arrows would likely be flying with just seven aircraft for the majority of their displays for the next few years, instead of the typical nine.
The aerobatic team have been forced to rotate the aircrafts they use because their engines are so old, it’s been claimed. The change was expected to last until at least 2030.
View 5 ImagesThe display team’s incredible moves are set to dazzle viewers across the country(Image: AS1 Emily Muir/RAF / SWNS)
So where can you see the Red Arrows this year? We’ve broken down their full schedule below:
The first outing for the Red Arrows this year won’t actually be in the UK, instead they will be hopping over to Greece to mark the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Crete on Sunday, May 24. Then on Friday May 29 and Saturday May 30, the team will be at the English Riviera Airshow in Torbay.
The Red Arrows are set to appear on both the Friday and Saturday of the three-day festival, which is now in its 13th year. The free event held in Paignton, Devon, marks the first event in the UK’s airshow calendar. After their appearance in Devon, the team will then jet off to the Midlands Air Festival, held in Alcester, Warwickshire.
Set to appear on the Saturday and Sunday, they will appear alongside historic WW2 planes, helicopters and parachute teams including the RAF Falcons. The team then has a few days off before appearing at the Isle of Man TT Races on June 4 at 7.30pm. On June 6, the Red Arrows will then be at the Gassed on Track event at Silverstone, described as ‘the ultmate motorsport experience’.
View 5 ImagesThe Red Arrows will take part in their annual Buckingham Palace flypast for the King’s official birthday(Image: Getty Images)
The next event for the prestigious team will be the annual Trooping the Colour flypast to celebrate the King’s official birthday where they perform an iconic flypast over Buckingham Palace to conclude the event. The Red Arrows will then be at the RAF Cosford Airshw in Wolverhampton on June 14 in their last UK appearance before jetting off to the US.
The display team are then touring airshows and displays in the US from June 27 through to July 26. They’re back in the UK in August, with the Airbourne – Eastbourne International Airshow, one of Europe’s biggest free seafront airshows on the UK coast. They’ll be at the event from August 14 to 16, with a brief break on August 15 to carry out their annual flypast at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
On August 16, they will be splitting their time between the Eastbourne airshow and Lyme Regis RNLI Lifeboat Week. August 19 will see the team performing at the Cromer Carnival in Norfolk with the iconic Cromer Pier creating a breathtaking backdrop for their display. After a couple of days in Sweden, the Red Arrows return to the UK once more for the Clacton Airshow – the largest aviation event on the Essex coast with displays over the seafront.
View 5 ImagesMany will be hoping for warm weather during the team’s coastal UK displays(Image: Greg Martin)
The team will perform on both days of the 33rd annual airshow on August 27 and 28. Next up on the agenda for the team is the Sidmouth Regatta and Airshow where they will be joined for the first time by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Douglas C47 Dakota. To round off August, the Red Arrows will appear at the Southport Airshow on August 29 and 30, which is seen as one of the UK’s premier air displays.
In September, the team will be up in Ayr, on Scotland southwest coast, for the International Ayr Show Feswtival of Flight on September 4 and 5. The free event will see the Red Arrows performing on both days, with aerial displays on 6.15pm to 8.40pm on the Friday and 1.30pm to 5.30pm on the Saturday. On September 9, the team will head to Guernsey for the Battle of Britain Air Display before hopping across to Jersey for the International Air Display on September 10.
IWM Duxford’s Battle of Britain Air Show in Cambridgeshire is up next on the timetable, on September 12. This year the event will be headed back to 1940 to mark 90 year ssince the first Spitfire took to the skies, with the event held at the very airfield where the Spitfire first flew. On September 13 the team appear to have an engagement, however details of it are yet to be confirmed.
View 5 ImagesThe Red Arrows are set to make their first appearance on May 24 in Greece ahead of the first UK airshow appearance(Image: AS1 Emily Muir/RAF / SWNS)
The Red Arrows will then spend time in the Czech Republic and France before returning to Duxford for the Flying Finale, marking the end of the UK’s airshow season.
- May 24: 85th anniversary of the Battle of Crete, Greece
- May 29 and 30: English Riviera Airshow, Torbay
- May 30 and 31: Midlands Air Festival
- June 4: Isle of Man TT Races
- June 6: Gassed on Track, Silverstone
- June 13: HM The King’s Official Birthday, London (flypast)
- June 14: RAF Cosford Airshow
- June 27 and 28: Sail 250 Maryland & Airshow Baltimore, Maryland, US
- July 4: International Aerial Review New York City, US (flypast)
- July 5 and 6: FourLeaf Air Show, Jones Beach, New York, US
- July 11 and 12: Great State of Maine Airshow, Brunswick Executive Airport, Maine, US
- July 17 and 18: Thunder Over Michigan Air SHow, Willow Run Airport, Ypsilanti, Michigan, US
- July 24, 25 and 26: EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Wisconsin, US
- August 14 and 15: Airbourne – Eastbourne International Airshow
- August 15: Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo (flypast)
- August 16: Airbourne – Eastbourne International AIrshow
- August 16: Lyme Regis RNLI Lifeboat Week
- August 19: Cromer Carnival and Air Display
- August 22 and 23: Swedish Air Force 100-Year Anniversary Show 2026, Linkoping, Sweden
- August 27 and 28: Clacton Airshow
- August 28: Sidmouth Regatta and Airshow
- August 29 and 30: Southport Airshow
- September 4 and 5: International Ayr Show Festival of Flight, Ayr
- September 9: Guernsey Air Display
- September 10: Jersey International Air Display
- September 12: IWM Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show
- September 13: Activity to be confirmed
- September 19 and 20: NATO Days in Ostrava, Czech Republic
- September 27: Le Touquet Airshow, France
- October 4: IWM Duxford Flying Finale