This year’s annual visit to the Royal International Air Tattoo at RAF Fairford was a little bit different. After having visited the show on a Saturday since 2009, we opted for a visit on the Sunday of the event this year. This was mainly done, because of the times of the ferries across the Channel. With no suitable times available for the return journey, we switched to Sunday for the 1-day trip.
This resulted in the 1-day and 2-day trip departing on the same day; Saturday 20 July 2024. On this day, a total of five coaches started their journey to Calais (departing from different locations). After several stops, a total of almost 250 enthousiasts boarded the ferry to Dover early on the next day (Sunday 21 July).
What followed was the drive towards the parking lots at RAF Fairford, which we entered as the first coaches arriving on the premises again. Entry procedures were easier than last year, so all could start enjoying the show quickly after the gates opened.
RIAT 2024 was a good one, as far as aircraft participation was concerned. The event brought together a large number of interesting aircraft this year. Two pairs of F-4s (two from Greece, two from Türkiye), AV-8Bs from Spain, F-16s from Morocco (and a fair number of other countries), a KC-10 from the USAF (final visit), a large delegation from Qatar, the first visit of an aircraft from Serbia (C-295), etc. etc. The weather started off a bit dark and cloudy, but improved during the day.
At the end of the day (we don’t leave until 19.00 local time, making our coaches the last ones to leave) the departure was a bit more challenging than other years. Combining the 1-day and 2-day trip on the way in, and trying not to have several half-empty coaches driving through the Netherlands, we had mixed the trips. This meant, that not everybody was able to use the same coach on the way back and some “moving” had to be done.
While four of the five coaches headed for Dover, the fifth one was off to Swindon (for a night in a hotel).
