Royal International Air Tattoo - RIAT 2026 at RAF Fairford, 17th-19th July 2026 Weather, Schedule, Timetable, Tickets, Hotels, Checklist, Weather, Camping

RIAT 2026 Airshow

RAF Typhoon FGR4 at RIAT 2026.

The Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) is a very large military Air Show containing hundreds of modern military aircraft in the static line-up and air display from many different countries around the world.

This Airshow is usually held at RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, which is a large base used infrequently by USAF deployments, making it an ideal venue for such a large Air Show.

RIAT 2026 Dates:

• 17-19 July - Royal International Air Tattoo 2026

Royal International Air Tattoo 2026 Themes
This year's theme will be "Fighter Meet" celebrating air-to-air fighter aircraft throughout history. A secondary theme will be "Royal Flight" marking the 30th anniversary of RIAT receiving its Royal status and will showcase aircraft used for VIP transportation.

RIAT 2026 Participating Aircraft:

(F)=Flying Display, (S)=Static Display, (FP)=Flypast

Belgian Air Force:
• Airbus A400M (S)
• General Dynamics F-16BM Fighting Falcon (S)
• Dassault Falcon 7X (S)
• NHIndustries NH90 NFH (F)

Civilian:
• De Havilland Vampire FB.52 (S)
• Hawker Hunter F.58 (S)
• Vought F4U-5NL Corsair (S)
• Supermarine Seafire XVII (S)
• Supermarine Spitfire IX - LZ842 (S)
• North American Harvard IV (S)
• North American P-51D Mustang (S)
• Piper J-3C Cub (S)
• Westland Sea King Mk.48 (F)

German Air Force:
• Airbus A321 (S)
• Airbus A400M (S)
• Eurofighter EF2000 (F)
• Panavia Tornado IDS (F)
• Sikorsky CH-53G (S)

German Army:
• NHIndustries NH90 TTH (S)
• NHIndustries NH90 TTH (F)

German Navy:
• Westland Sea Lynx Mk.88 (S)

Royal Danish Air Force:
• Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk (S)

Finnish Air Force:
• McDonnell Douglas F/A-18C Hornet (F)

Royal Jordanian Air Force:
• Royal Jordanian Falcons (F)
• Lockheed C-130H Hercules (S)

Royal Netherlands Air & Space Force:
• Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II (S)
• NHIndustries NH90 NFH (S)

Slovak Air Force:
• Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk (F)

RIAT 2026 Tickets:

Tickets can be purchased on the official website at www.airtattoo.com/tickets-packages/

Please note that tickets will not be available at the gate.

RIAT 2026 Maps

RIAT Accommodation:

Tweets by RIAT

RIAT Future Dates:

Fri 16, Sat 17, Sun 18 July 2027
Fri 14, Sat 15, Sun 16 July 2028
Fri 13, Sat 14, Sun 15 July 2029
Fri 19, Sat 20, Sun 21 July 2030

Amazon (paid Link)

Uniden UBC-125XLT Handheld Scanner

Royal International Air Tattoo - Red Arrows.

Royal International Air Tattoo - RAF Typhoon.

Royal International Air Tattoo - RAF Chinook.

Royal International Air Tattoo - RAF F-35B Lightning.

Royal International Air Tattoo - Royal Jordanian Falcons.

RIAT Information & Links

RIAT History
The first Air Tattoo was held at North Weald, Essex in 1971. North Weald was then still owned by the Ministry of Defence and it was was inactive so it had to be re-activated for the event. North Weald also hosted the Air Tattoo in 1972 but in 1973 the M11 motorway was being built close to North Weald's main runway so a new location was found for the Air Tattoo at RAF Greenham Common. Greenham Common hosted more aircraft and 2 days were allocated for the event. It was very successful and was hosted there in 1974 also.

In 1975 with the loss of the Director of the IAT, the withdrawal of a major sponsor, and an international fuel crisis there wasn't an Air Tattoo. However a proposal was put to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund which decided to support future Air Tattoos at Greenham Common. In 1976 the show became the International Air Tattoo (IAT). The 1977 IAT was the last of the annual International Air Tattoos, as it was then held every other year.

The International Air Tattoos in 1979, 1981, and 1983 became bigger and better but the 1983 IAT was the last to be held at Greenham Common due to the build up of cruise missile facilities and the reduced area for a large airshow. In 1985, RAF Fairford was chosen as the venue to host the Air Tattoo. The static display stretched for nearly 2 miles and was the longest single line-up ever presented in the UK. Fairford hosted the event biennially until 1993 and annually since then.

In recognition of its unique status, the current title of 'Royal International Air Tattoo' was granted by Her Majesty The Queen in 1996.

During 2000 and 2001 the Royal International Air Tattoo was held at RAF Cottesmore, Rutland because RAF Fairford was having its runways resurfaced. RIAT returned back to RAF Fairford in 2002.

Day-specific tickets were introduced for the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in 2008 because RIAT 2007 saw many more people attending on Saturday rather than Sunday because the weather was forecast was much better for Saturday. This resulted in traffic chaos and long queues on Saturday. It is thought that issuing day-specific tickets (Saturday or Sunday) which will have to be bought in advance (there will be no on-the-day tickets) will solve the problems of RIAT 2007. It is still possible to purchase a ticket which covers both saturday and Sunday but at a higher price.

The Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford in 2008 was cancelled both days (Saturday and Sunday) due to a sustained period of heavy rainfall resulting in waterlogged conditions in the public carparks and also the airfield. Unfortunately in 2008 the United States Air Force Air Combat Command's F-22 Raptor Demonstration Team had made the first trans-Atlantic flight to participate in the show. However, the F-22 Raptor appeared and displayed at RIAT 2010.

RIAT 2012 saw the debut of the excellent Black Eagles aerobatic team from South Korea.

RIAT 2014 was the first time in its history that the show has been open to the public on a Friday and included a flying display. The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter was to make its anticipated European debut in 2014 but the type was grounded in the U.S. due to an F-35 engine failure so couldn't attend the Royal International Air Tattoo.

RIAT 2016 included the international display debut of the Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II. Six F-35 Lightning II were flown over to RAF Fairford in June 2016 to take part in the show. The six F-35s included three USAF F-35A Lightning II (conventional take off and landing variant), two USMC F-35B Lightning II (short-take off and vertical-landing (STOVL) variant), and an RAF F-35B Lightning II. The F-22A Raptor also made a welcome return.

RIAT 2018 celebrated one hundred years of the Royal Air Force and had a full three days of airshows, with over 7 hours of flying on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

RIAT 2020 was cancelled due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) and RIAT 2021 cancelled due to the ongoing uncertainties regarding COVID but RIAT did go ahead in 2022.

Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) 2026 - Fairford Airshow