{"id":3328,"date":"2026-02-13T14:45:35","date_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.airscene.co.uk\/news\/?p=3328"},"modified":"2026-02-13T14:45:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T14:45:35","slug":"save-the-date-for-take-off-thursday","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.airscene.co.uk\/news\/aviation-news-uk\/uk-airshow-news\/save-the-date-for-take-off-thursday\/","title":{"rendered":"Save the date for Take Off Thursday\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"RIAT<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With our first aircraft announcement taking off on Thursday 19th February<\/strong>, we caught up with the Air Operations team to bring you the latest update on preparations for RIAT26<\/strong> so far. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Planning for this year\u2019s show started long before RIAT25 even opened. Once our themes were confirmed, the team began building aircraft \u201cwish lists\u201d for both the flying and static displays \u2013 spanning military, commercial and privately operated aircraft from across the globe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In September, the formal invitation process got underway, with letters sent to more than 100 Air Arms worldwide. Since then, the team has been meeting with International Air Attach\u00e9s in London to share our vision for the show and champion the aircraft we\u2019d love to see arriving at RAF Fairford this July. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are already some exciting plans in motion, particularly around our Fighter Meet<\/strong> and Royal Flight<\/strong> themes. As always, our goal is to deliver an entertaining, varied and unforgettable line-up that offers something for every aviation fan at RIAT. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Peter Reoch, Head of Air Operations, explained that:\u00a0\u201cThe majority of militaries\u00a0aren\u2019t\u00a0able to tell us what\u00a0aircraft\u00a0they plan to send to RIAT until the spring. Thankfully, some national planning cycles come sooner so\u00a0we\u2019re\u00a0pleased to be able to start our weekly\u00a0aircraft\u00a0updates next week. As per usual, whilst\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0start slowly, history tells us as the months\u00a0pass,\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0have more\u00a0aircraft\u00a0to announce as we get closer to the show.\u00a0Generally, the\u00a0more rare\/exotic participants\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0be announced until much closer to the event, as we always wait until we have formal written confirmation of their attendance and all the arrangements in place before we add any\u00a0aircraft\u00a0to our participation list.\u00a0I\u2019m\u00a0confident\u00a0we\u2019ll\u00a0have an exciting mix of\u00a0aircraft\u00a0at RIAT26 for everyone to enjoy, thanks to the efforts of everyone at Douglas Bader House.\u201d\u00a0<\/em> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

www.airtattoo.com<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Discounts ending\u00a0soon\u00a0\u2013\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0miss out<\/strong><\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Tickets are flying, and some enclosure discounts are ending soon, so grab the best price while you can.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n