Warbirds Over Wānaka soars to success after a six year hiatus
On Easter weekend this year, the biennial airshow, Warbirds Over Wānaka returned to the skies of Wānaka for the first time since 2018 after a series of cancellations due to the COVID pandemic.
An F-16 fighter jet from the USAF opening the event as the first display of the 2024 airshow | Photo: Noah Stohr-Waldren
Previously, the airshow was forced to cancel in 2020 and 2022 because of Covid but roared back into life at Easter. The airshow this year was a tremendous success, attracting over 64,000 guests and generating over $40 million for the local economy. Warbirds Over Wānaka Airshows Ltd Chairman Paul Moodie says a conservative estimate of the economic impact over the event’s lifetime has put the total impact at around $305 million dollars.
The overall number of spectators was up 18% from the 2018 airshow with both Saturday and Sunday shows selling out.
It was recorded that the overall guest satisfaction of the event was 98%. The airshow is now being hailed as one of the greatest airshows ever to be held in New Zealand as well as being up with the greatest in the entire world.
An RNZAF C-130H Hercules preforming a ground effect take off during its demonstration | Photo: Noah Stohr-Waldren
The display highlights from the show were numerous, including the exhilarating F-16 Fighting Falcons, the stunning Mosquito, the immaculate Biggin Hill P-51, the American Eagles L-39 display team, a Yak-52 12-ship aerobatic team and a farewell to the RNZAF’s mighty C-130H.
Spectators were lucky enough to see every aircraft type from the RNZAF with displays from the C-130H, 757, P-8 Poseidon, T-6 Texans preforming as the Black Falcons, NH-90s, Seasprites, and A109s, even the rarely seen King Airs paid a visit to the airshow this year. Alongside the RNZAF, the RAAF opened up a C-27 Spartan for guests to walk through and the USAF showed up with a lot of noise bringing 2x F-16 Fighting Falcons plus C-17 and KC—135 fly overs to top it all off.
Of course, Warbirds Over Wanaka wouldn’t be itself without a myriad of colourful vintage aircraft displaying over the picturesque venue. The show saw a brand new Mosquito Bomber and P-51 Mustang both displaying for the first time, as well as all the classics like the Roaring Forties and Yak 52 display teams.
More images and descriptions of the aircraft on display can be found in our article: Warbirds Over Wanaka visualised
Two display teams from WOW 2024, the Roaring Forties (bottom) and American Eagles (top) | Photo: Noah Stohr-Waldren
The next Warbirds Over Wānaka airshow will be held on easter weekend in 2026 (April 3,4 and 5), with tickets expected to go on sale in June 2025.
After the incredible airshow this year in 2024, the 2026 event will no doubt be just as great so don’t miss out on experiencing New Zealand’s premier airshow when it eventually comes around once again.