The Northern Ireland International Airshow will not take place in 2026 after councillors agreed to postpone the flagship seaside event until 2028. The move was agreed by the borough’s Leisure & Development Committee on Tuesday evening and will be ratified by the full council next month.

The committee’s discussion focused on the pressure of staging the airshow in the same year as Armed Forces Day and the USA-250 commemorations, both scheduled for 2026. Members concluded that attempting all three would stretch staff and budgets. The committee backed a proposal—carried by eight votes to one, with six abstentions—to set 2028 as the next airshow year and to use the intervening period for planning.

RAF Typhoon Display Team / NI International Airshow (Portrush) 2024

Why 2028?

Officials advised that a major seaside airshow needs well over 12 months of planning to secure display teams, infrastructure, sponsorship and safety arrangements. Local briefings ahead of this week’s meeting also flagged potential cost efficiencies from aligning with the International Ayr Show – Festival of Flight, which typically runs in early September and can allow some sharing of assets and logistics.

While some local coverage suggested staff could also explore partnerships with larger mainland shows, the only specific alignment referenced in council-adjacent reporting was with Ayr.

Focus for 2026

Causeway Coast & Glens has already confirmed it will host Armed Forces Day 2026, with planning updates issued this spring. Councillors have also discussed ways to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Declaration of Independence (“USA-250”), including proposals to establish a working group. Tuesday’s airshow decision allows officers to concentrate on those two programmes next year.

A one-off events review in 2028

Alongside the postponement, the committee agreed that all major council-run events should undergo a one-off review in 2028 to test value for money. The committee decision indicates officers will shape how that review is carried out and bring proposals back to members, with the overall postponement subject to full-council ratification.

Economic context

On costs, recent council-related briefings and local reporting put the net budget for an airshow of 2024 scale at around £400,000. That figure tallies with the committee note that “last year’s event came at a cost of around £400,000,” and with a separate pre-meeting article setting out the estimated net cost based on 2024 delivery.

In return, Portrush airshows have historically delivered some of the island’s largest free-to-attend crowds. Almost 200,000 people visited in 2016, and more than 150,000 in 2018 when the Red Arrows headlined.

What the airshow means locally

First staged in 2002 and later branded Northern Ireland Air Spectacular, Air Waves Portrush and now the NI International Airshow, the event is widely promoted as the largest air show on the island of Ireland. It typically runs across a coastal viewing line between Ballyreagh Golf Course (on the coast road towards Portstewart) and West Bay in Portrush, with a sizeable ground footprint including a long-standing STEM Village.

Council announcements ahead of the 2024 edition confirmed the new coastal layout from Ballyreagh Golf Course to West Bay, title sponsorship from Spirit AeroSystems and Thales, and the return of attractions such as the RAF Typhoon, Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, and a STEM Village at Ballyreagh. A post-event council wrap noted “thousands” attending over two days in 2024.

Next steps

The committee vote now goes to the full council for ratification in early October. If approved, officers will prioritise Armed Forces Day and USA-250 programming in 2026, maintain relationships with air display providers, and prepare the structure for the 2028 events review that will assess the airshow and other council-delivered major events on consistent criteria.

Bottom line

The Causeway Coast & Glens has opted for a strategic pause: no airshow in 2026, a planning runway through 2027, and a 2028 horizon that includes a value-for-money review.

But the mood locally is far from upbeat. Enthusiasts and residents have voiced disappointment online, stressing that this was Northern Ireland’s only international airshow. That unease is sharpened by the uncertain status of Newcastle’s Festival of Flight—once the other major seaside air display in the region. The Festival has not run since 2019 and was not staged in 2023, despite periodic talk of a possible comeback. With no firm dates announced, Portrush’s postponement leaves Northern Ireland with no guaranteed airshow for the foreseeable future, raising doubts about the region’s place on the UK and Irish air display circuit.

Northern Ireland International Airshow pushed back to 2028