Defence Online

Red Arrows gear up for Canada tour

Air August 1, 2019

The Red Arrows will tour across Canada with appearances in Halifax, Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Vancouver, and Victoria.

Final preparations are being made for the Red Arrows biggest-ever tour to North America, which includes performance or flypasts over 6 Canadian cities.

Aviation fans in Halifax, Ottawa-Gatineau, Toronto, Niagara Falls, Vancouver, and Victoria will have a unique opportunity to see the Red Arrows take flight during the team’s 11-week deployment, which is aimed at showcasing the UK at its best, and supporting trade, business and defence interests.

The first public event of the tour will be a flypast with aircraft from the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) over the historic Halifax waterfront on Sunday, 11 August. This will be followed on 13 August by a flypast of Parliament Hill in Ottawa, and an aerobatic display in Gatineau.

After visiting a number of cities in the United States, the Red Arrows will return to Canada to appear at the Canadian International Airshow in Toronto over the Labour Day weekend. Later in September, they’ll return to Canada again for a special flypast over Vancouver Harbour and Victoria, British Columbia.

It is the first time the Red Arrows have been to Canada and the US since 2008, with the deployment of the most ambitious tour of North America ever undertaken by the team. With stops across the continent, in addition to the Canadian stops, the tour comprises a combination of nearly 20 aerobatic displays, several iconic flypasts and 100 separate ground engagement activities – from business receptions led by the UK Department for International Trade to sessions aimed at inspiring young people.

Each show in Canada will be a demonstration of creativity, engineering excellence and innovation – not just hallmarks of the Red Arrows and RAF but of the proven capabilities, strengths and skills of the UK.

Moreover, the tour provides the chance to celebrate and enhance international trade between the UK and Canada, which was worth more than £20 billion in the four quarters to the end of Q1 2019, an of increase of more than 17% from the same period in 2018.

Wing Commander Andrew Keith, Officer Commanding, Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team, said: “Tours by the Red Arrows have always been an important role of the team – aiming to demonstrate RAF expertise, helping to highlight UK excellence across a range of sectors and celebrating close connections with friends and allies.

“With only days to go before the Red Arrows depart for North America, and with more tour locations now being released, all of us in the team hope people across Canada will be able to join us in the coming weeks and enjoy one of our displays, flypasts or events.”