With our first aircraft announcement taking off on Thursday 19th February, we caught up with the Air Operations team to bring you the latest update on preparations for RIAT26 so far.
Planning for this year’s show started long before RIAT25 even opened. Once our themes were confirmed, the team began building aircraft “wish lists” for both the flying and static displays – spanning military, commercial and privately operated aircraft from across the globe.
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 Attachés in London to share our vision for the show and champion the aircraft we’d love to see arriving at RAF Fairford this July.
There are already some exciting plans in motion, particularly around our Fighter Meet and Royal Flight themes. As always, our goal is to deliver an entertaining, varied and unforgettable line-up that offers something for every aviation fan at RIAT.
Peter Reoch, Head of Air Operations, explained that: “The majority of militaries aren’t able to tell us what aircraft they plan to send to RIAT until the spring. Thankfully, some national planning cycles come sooner so we’re pleased to be able to start our weekly aircraft updates next week. As per usual, whilst we’ll start slowly, history tells us as the months pass, we’ll have more aircraft to announce as we get closer to the show. Generally, the more rare/exotic participants can’t be 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 aircraft to our participation list. I’m confident we’ll have an exciting mix of aircraft at RIAT26 for everyone to enjoy, thanks to the efforts of everyone at Douglas Bader House.”
Follow our Take Off Thursday updates, landing at midday every Thursday from 19th February 2026 across our website and social media channels.
Discounts ending soon – don’t miss out
Tickets are flying, and some enclosure discounts are ending soon, so grab the best price while you can.
Flight Deck Friday tickets drop from 15% off to 10% off at midnight on Tuesday 17th February
Aviation Club Friday and Sunday tickets go to full price at midnight on Sunday 15th February
Click HERE for tickets.
Note: Only 5 places left for Aviation Club Saturday!
Click HERE for tickets.
Entertainment Swindon 
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