The display takes place on Wednesday 9 September 2026, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm in St Peter Port. 

The display moved to the evening to: 

• Increase the size of the audience for the display. St Peter Port and the east coast was significantly busier last year compared to previous lunchtime displays. 

• Enable more families, children and students to attend.   

• Allow islanders who work during the day to enjoy the event. 

• Increase visibility for sponsors by expanding the audience. 

Feedback from last year’s show was very positive and quotes from our social media channels showed positive feedback for the evening display.  

‘I finally got to watch the display with my mum after 20 years!’ 

“It was the first time in years that I have been able to enjoy the show with my now older "children" and made me reminiscent of years gone past.’ 

‘Really enjoyed it and watched it as a family for the first time with children and grandchildren.’ 

Whilst the timing continues to work operationally with the airport and harbours, the format continues to be well received and has the support of the sponsors, we will continue to hold the display in the evening. 

You do not need to buy tickets. The Guernsey Air Display is a free non-ticketed island-wide event that takes place over the harbour in St Peter Port. 

People can watch along the town seafront and from spots up the East Coast or there is seating at the food village, which returns on Crown Pier for the 2026 display with numerous local eateries. 

There is an application process to secure all military aircraft.  Unfortunately, we can’t just book the Typhoon, although we’d love to! 

We apply to the RAF, the Navy and Joint Aviation Command for a range of aircraft, including the Red Arrows, Typhoon, Chinook and Battle of Britain Memorial Flight as well as a range of helicopters. 

The aircraft can either attend to perform a full display, do a fly-past or join a static display, such as our Meet the Pilots event. 

We apply for all the aircraft that are available.  The RAF then collate all the requests for display and events across the country and will confirm the allocations in early March. 

The Typhoon and Chinook are not specific display aircraft but working, operational aircraft.  As our display takes place during the week, these aircraft are working so are rarely available, but we always apply for them and occasionally we get lucky. 

Depending on the aircraft secured for this year’s display, the Foundation tends to organise a Meet the Pilots event at the Guernsey Airport the day before the display. 

People can see some of the planes in the programme up close and meet some of the RAF pilots. 

Professional pilots and members of the RAF also attend schools as part of the Educate and Inspire programme.  

One of the pillars of the Guernsey Air Display is to educate and inspire young people about civilian and military history, engineering challenges the aviation industry faces as well as  military and civilian career opportunities. 

In previous years, air traffic control, pilots, engineers and RAF pilots and crew have visited students in schools across the island.  The RAF recruitment team and the Tyhoon PR team have also visited  

The display is funded primarily by a consortium of local businesses, many of whom have been supporting the display for many years. 

We have created a number of packages to be affordable to all businesses: 

• Become a Corporate Friend, designed to be accessible for smaller businesses at £850 

• Join the Consortium at bronze level for £2,450, silver at £2,950 and gold at £3.450 

• Opportunities to make one‑off donations 

In addition to sponsorship, a grant is received from the Committee for Education Sport and Culture and the Tourism Management Board, and we received an underwrite from the Committee for Economic Development. 

The display would also not be possible without the support of Guernsey Ports and the teams at the airport and harbours. 

The display is one of many large-scale community events including Liberation Day, the West Show, North Show, Donkey Derby, Harbour Carnival and Guernsey Street Festival, to name just a few, alongside a huge numberof sporting, arts and charity events.  All those events are knocking on the same doors to ask for sponsorship. 

With companies merging or being taken over and businesses closing or leaving the island, the number of doors is getting fewer. 

Sponsorship decisions are increasingly being made off-island rather than in the local office. 

Become a Friend of the Guernsey Air Display for £17.50.   

For this you will get a 2026 Friend Of pin badge, be listed on the website and in the digital display programme and be entered into a draw to win one of three pairs of tickets to the sponsor reception to watch the display. 

For more information, please get in contact with Natalie Davidson on natalie@black-vanilla.co.uk  

As you would expect for an air display, the costs add up pretty quickly. 

We aim to raise around £65,000 each year. 

The cost of the planes is around £35,000 which includes their fees, accommodation, landing fees and fuel. 

The premium for public liability insurance is £9,000. 

The short answer is yes. 

As the Air Display is not a ticketed event it is difficult to obtain accurate data on how many visitors come to Guernsey specifically for the Air Display but we know it is hard to get accommodation in the days and week around the Air Display as many hotels are at capacity.  Hotels also report repeat visitors who will book for the following year as they leave from this year’s display. 

We carried out a small visitor survey at the display in 2025 which showed the display is a significant draw for tourists, with two-thirds of visitors coming to the island for the event itself and some discovering it by coincidence and rating it as a highlight of their visit.  

* A survey was undertaken by Air Display organisers on the evening of the event.  Approximately 50 visitors were surveyed with visitors coming to the island from Canada, Germany and the UK. 

The Guernsey Air Display Foundation is very aware of the sustainability concerns surrounding air displays and as a member of the British Air Display Association, they take advice from and are committed to the charter, which includes: 

• Eliminate single use items 

• Think green with your contractors 

• Facilitate public transport and active travel 

• Offset aviation emissions 

• Promotion sustainable aviation 

The Guernsey display differs to many other UK and European displays as it only lasts a couple of hours rather than being a multi-day event, it is not based on an airfield therefore does not create large volumes of waste or infrastructure issues and although it attracts visitors, there is significantly less large-scale movement of traffic. 

Action taken at a local level to become more sustainable involves choosing display teams who are actively taking steps to tackle climate change and have a shorter transit time to use less fuel, no paper programmes but QR codes and social media posts encouraging active travel and lastly, using locally sourced produce for the sponsor reception. 

Carbon offsetting is a last resort and, whilst progress continues to be made by the aviation industry, we are researching offsetting the carbon footprint of the display.  Any financial contribution will ideally support an on-island project so the benefits are felt locally. 

Work carried out by the British Air Display Association (BADA) has shown that less than 1% of the total CO2 emissions produced by airshows across the UK is caused by the aircraft in flying displays. The majority of emissions are generated by spectator transport, meaning there is no reason for airshows to be considered as worse polluters than other events across the UK.