Alberta International Airshow Cancelled – St. Albert News

The skies over Sturgeon County will be a lot less exciting this summer as organizers have canceled this year’s Villeneuve Air Show.

Organizers announced the cancellation of the 2024 Alberta International Airshow on July 9. The non-profit event was originally scheduled to take place at the Villeneuve airport on Aug. 17-18.

Airshow organizer Richard Skermer attributed the cancellation to the 100th anniversary of the Royal Canadian Air Force this year. Canadian military air bases have held air shows to celebrate the event, such as the Cold Lake Air Show from July 20 to 21, and have attracted virtually every notable military aircraft and show team on the continent, leaving few opportunities for civilian air shows in Western Canada.

Skermer said he and his team initially hoped the Royal Air Force’s Red Arrow team would participate in this year’s airshow, but learned last November that the Arrows were already booked for airshows in eastern Canada. The Canadian Snowbirds were also busy, so his team was left with a few F-18s and civilian numbers, which wasn’t enough to attract the sponsors needed to fund the airshow.

Skermer said he and his team decided to cancel this week’s airshow to give guests time to reschedule their event. The career expo and conference associated with the airshow have also been canceled.

“We can’t produce something that families would enjoy,” Skermer said.

Skermer said there would be no refunds for the airshow cancellation because tickets never went on sale. He planned to bring the airshow back in 2025.

Visit albertainternationalairshow.com for more details.