On Thursday, Prague will witness a spectacular aerial display: Two Gripen jets of the Czech Air Force will fly alongside ten aircraft of the British aerobatic team, the Red Arrows, over the city.
Tomorrow, Thursday, 18 September, the Czech capital will witness this special aviation event at 3 pm: According to online magazine Natoaktual.cz, a formation of two JAS-39 Gripen jets of the Czech Air Force and ten aircraft of the legendary Red Arrows will fly over Prague. The highlight of the flypast will be a low-level pass at around 300 metres above Charles Bridge – complete with coloured smoke trails.
The Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force (RAF) aerobatic team, are preparing for the upcoming NATO Days in Ostrava as well as the Czech Air Force Days (Dny Vzdušných sil Armády ČR), where they will also perform. With their red-painted BAE Hawk T1 aircraft, the pilots aim not only to honour the Czech Air Force but also to mark the 80th anniversary of the end of the Second World War.
The last time Prague residents saw a flypast of Czech and allied jets was in March last year, on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Czech Republic’s NATO accession.
The formation will approach Prague from the north, line up over Václav Havel Airport in arrow formation, test the smoke trails, and then fly over the western outskirts of the city towards the south. From there, the jets will follow the Vltava from south to north, presenting their aerobatic manoeuvres with coloured smoke trails over Charles Bridge at 3 pm. Afterwards, the formation will turn towards Kbely and continue to Leoš Janáček Airport in Ostrava.
The British aerobatic team Red Arrows was founded in 1964 and traditionally performs with nine red-painted aircraft. It is one of the most renowned aerobatic teams in the world and is famous for its precise, tightly flown formations. All pilots have extensive combat experience on supersonic jets such as the Eurofighter Typhoon.
