Red Arrows: Where and when to see their dramatic and dizzying displays in 2025
The Red Arrows will kick off their flying season with a flypast in London during the VE Day 80 celebrations in early May.
The iconic Royal Air Force aerobatic team, who are flying from May to October, will also be heading beyond the shores of Great Britain as they will perform in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Greece and Spain this summer.
In the UK, the team can be seen at historic events including the Isle of Man TT races, Goodwood Festival of Speed and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
The red jets will also be performing alongside some rapid cars at the F1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone, which was won by legendary Ferrari driver, Lewis Hamilton, in 2024.
The Red Arrows' displays
Red Arrows' aerobatic displays change each year, with the first half of the display consisting of synchronised, formation aerobatics, followed by a more dynamic second half.
Reds one to five form the front section of the team's formation, known as Enid – named after children's writer Enid Blyton, the author of the Famous Five.
The rear section of the formation comprises Reds six to nine and is called Hanna, in honour of Ray Hanna, one of the team's founding pilots and early leaders.
This back section includes the synchro pair, Reds six and seven, who perform the highly popular opposition manoeuvres during the latter section of the show.
During a display, Red 10 acts as the team's supervisor who maintains two-way radio contact with the team leader and also provides the commentary.
Types of display
There are three types of display the team leader can elect to fly – full, rolling or flat.
To carry out a full, looping display the base of the clouds must be above 5,500ft to avoid the aircraft entering the cloud at the top of the loop.
If the cloud base is lower than 5,500ft, but more than 2,500ft, the team will perform the rolling display – substituting wing-overs and rolls for the loops.
When the cloud base is below 2,500ft, the team flies the flat display, consisting of a series of flypasts and steep turns.
Busy all year
The Red Arrows begin training for the forthcoming season almost as soon as the previous year has ended.
Typically, winter training starts in October, with small groups of three or four aircraft formations.
Each pilot flies three sorties a day, five days a week, and the formations grow in aircraft numbers as training progresses.
These flights involve a thorough brief, debrief and discussion to ensure safety is paramount and formations are precise, and one complete cycle consisting of these elements lasts about two hours, usually with a 30-minute flight.
Winter training lasts until mid-March or early-April when the team usually moves overseas to a location with more settled, more predictable weather to maximise flying hours and perfect the display. This is known as Exercise Springhawk.
During Springhawk, the team is assessed by senior Royal Air Force officers, with the aim of gaining Public Display Authority.
If this is awarded, the team's pilots change from green coveralls into their famous red flying suits and the ground crew are allowed to wear their royal blue display coveralls.
The season then officially begins and public performances by the Red Arrows are permitted.
Here is the full list of Red Arrows displays for 2025:
5 May - VE Day 80, London – flypast
24 May -Souda Bay, Crete, Greece
26 May - Thessaloniki, Greece
30, 31 May and 1 June -Midlands Air Festival
31 May and 1 June -English Riviera Airshow
5 June - Isle of Man TT Races
8 June - RAF Cosford Airshow
14 June - HM The King's Official Birthday flypast, London – flypast
15 June -Festival Aéreo AIRE 24, San Javier, Murcia, Spain
21 June - Northern Ireland Armed Forces’ Day – Newtownards Airfield
22 June - Duxford Summer Air Show
28 June - Shuttleworth Festival of Flight
28 June - Armed Forces Day North East Lincolnshire, Cleethorpes
29 June - Battle of Britain Airshow, Headcorn
5 and 6 July - Wales Airshow, Swansea
6 July - F1 British Grand Prix, Silverstone – flypast
10, 11 and 13 July - Goodwood Festival of Speed
18, 19, and 20 July - Royal International Air Tattoo
26 July - Swanage Carnival
26 and 27 July -Old Buckenham
9 and 10 August - Blackpool Airshow
9 August - Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo – flypast
14, 15, 16 and 17 August - Eastbourne International Airshow
5 and 6 September - Ayr Show Festival of Flight
7 September - Great North Run – Newcastle/South Shields
10 September - Guernsey Air Display
11 September - Jersey International Air Display
13 and 14 September - International Sanicole Airshow, Belgium
20 and 21 September - NATO Days – Ostrava, Czech Republic
4 October - Duxford Flying Finale
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