Wales Airshow in Swansea – times, parking, tickets, road closures and what to expect
Last year’s event attracted 250,000 people to Swansea, and this year promises to be another hit
THE Wales Airshow will be making its triumphant return to Swansea Bay this weekend. Featuring breathtaking aerobatic displays, state-of-the-art military aircraft and vintage planes from the past, the event thrilled more than 250,000 visitors in Swansea Bay last summer and this year promises to be the same again.
Here’s your guide to everything we know so far about this year’s event...
When is it taking place?
This year’s event takes place tomorrow and Sunday. What’s it all about?
The Wales Airshow is a flagship event in the city’s summer calendar and last year attracted around 250,000 people from all over south Wales and the UK.
Apart from world-class entertainment in the skies, there will be ground events going on as well to keep visitors well entertained. What’s the line-up looking like?
So far the aircraft confirmed to be taking part are... RAF Typhoon Eurofighter RAF Red Arrows
Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Catalina Flying Boat
The Wingwalkers Chinook
Lauren Wilson – Pitts Special Team Raven
RAF Tutor The Gyro Air Display Team RHHF Sea Fury
Falcons Parachute Display Team
Richard Goodwin – Aerobatic Sporting Biplane
The Bremont Great War Team
The flying aces are also planning to put on a performance that’s not for the faint-hearted at the Wales Airshow.
Wing-walkers from the Aerosuperbatics Display Team will be taking centre stage atop stunt bi-planes high above Swansea Bay as part of the biggest free event taking place in Wales this year.
The RAF Chinook will also be taking to the skies.
With a maximum speed of 160 knots and a maximum altitude of 15,000 feet, the 30-metre long Chinook can be operated in the Arctic, jungle or desert. Its cockpit has a full night-time capability when operated with night-vision goggles, allowing low-level night operations in hostile environments.
The Chinook has been on active service in military and humanitarian operations with the RAF since the 1980s.
It saw action in the Falklands conflict, in Kosovo and in the two Gulf wars and can carry up to 55 fullyladen soldiers.
A Catalina flying boat, a veteran of the Second World War, will be showing off the reasons why the planes were the Allied ocean-crossing workhorse, covering great distances in a single flight and able to touchdown virtually anywhere.
The Catalina was not the fastest plane to fly in the Second World War, with a top speed around half that of a Spitfire at full-throttle, but it was durable, versatile and had a range of 2,500 miles.
A taste of Biggles and derring-do will be coming to the Wales Airshow for the first time this summer when British and German First World War planes take flight over Swansea.
Replicas of two British SE5 biplane fighters which saw service over the battlefields of France and Belgium more than 100 years ago will be going toe-to-toe with a replica German Junkers CL1.
The aircraft, all part of the Bremont Great War Team, are making
their debut at the Wales Airshow.
The Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will be showcasing three of just a handful of planes still in the air more than 70 years after their finest hours. The Supermarine Spitfire, Hawker Hurricane and Avro Lancaster will be making their mark. What is the timetable?
A timetable of display times for the airshow will be fed into an Airshow App a few days before the event.
The app, which is available at a cost via the Wales National Airshow website, will be updated in real time to reflect changes in the event schedule and timings that may be caused by the weather and other factors. I’m travelling from outside of Swansea, how do I get there? Swansea is easily accessed from the M4 junction 47 if you’re travel-
ling from the Carmarthen direction, or M4 junction 42 from the Cardiff/ London direction – just follow the Wales Airshow signs. Where can I park?
A range of car parks have been set up to cater for the event to help make your event experience as enjoyable as possible.
The car parks available are tiered into Gold, Silver and Bronze based on their distance to the event. Cost ranges between £18 and £5 per vehicle.
■ Travelling from the West
■ Sketty Lane car park
■ King George V Playing fields car park
■ Lacrosse fields car park
■ Recreation Ground car park
■ Travelling from the East
■ Civic Centre car park
■ Paxton Street car park
■ Oystermouth Road car park
■ Guildhall rotunda
Due to record breaking attendances in 2017, a new increased capacity park and ride site will operate during the weekend catering exclusively for Wales Airshow visitors.
The service will run from the
Swansea Bay Studios Car Park on Fabian Way on the entrance to Swansea, dropping off and picking up at the Civic Centre.
The travel time from the park and ride site to the event is approximately 20 minutes. Do I need tickets?
There’s no need to buy tickets, the event is completely free. Instead people can focus their attention on finding the best spots on where to catch the best views of the aircrafts as they fly past. Where are the best places to see the aircrafts fly past?
Swansea Promenade, from the Civic Centre to Mumbles; although the displays will be centred on the ground display area by the Cenotaph.
Keen photographers among you may like to note that the sun will be in front of you from the ground display and will move towards Mumbles Head (where the lighthouse is).
There’s also plenty to see and do on the beach between the Civic Centre and the Recreation Ground, plus the main ground displays/ activities on the promenade at the
Cenotaph and the Recreation
Ground.
Spectators must stay behind the warning flag display line, which is demarked by white posts with red flags along the bay – this is to allow the aircraft to display as close as possible to the crowd line. Will there be food available?
A full range of food will be available in the ground display area around the Recreation Ground and Cenotaph and also around Civic Centre. The food range will include jacket potatoes, curry, burgers, fish and chips and crepes. Ice cream, doughnuts, sweets and fudge stalls will also be open. Will it be noisy?
High noise levels will be expected, especially during the jet aircraft displays like the Red Arrows. There may be noise from practice sessions on the Friday before the airshow weekend as well as both afternoons of Wales Airshow. Can I bring my pet?
It is recommended to leave your pets at home as the air displays will be very noisy and there are thousands of people expected.