There is no Avalon Airshow in 2026. The Australian International Airshow is a biennial event held every 2 years. The 2025 edition ran from 25 to 30 March 2025 at Avalon Airport, Victoria. The next confirmed edition is the Avalon Airshow 2027, scheduled for 23 to 28 February 2027. No 2026 edition exists.
For official aviation safety context, see the UK Civil Aviation Authority. For the previous guide in this series, see Airshows Europe 2026: Dates, Locations, and 8 Must-Attend Aviation Events Across the Continent.
Is There an Avalon Airshow in 2026?
No. The Avalon Airshow does not run in 2026. It is a biennial event, meaning it skips every alternate year. The Victorian Government confirmed the 2027 edition in March 2026, and the AMDA Foundation — the organising body — confirmed no show takes place in 2026.
|
Edition |
Dates |
Status |
|
Avalon 2023 |
February–March 2023 |
Held; 248,000 total attendances |
|
Avalon 2025 |
25–30 March 2025 |
Held; 200,000+ total attendances |
|
Avalon 2026 |
— |
Does not exist |
|
Avalon 2027 |
23–28 February 2027 |
Confirmed by Victorian Government |
Why Does the Avalon Airshow Skip 2026?
The Avalon Airshow has been held biennially since its establishment at Avalon Airport in 1992. The biennial format allows the AMDA Foundation, the Royal Australian Air Force, and the Victorian Government sufficient time to plan, fund, and coordinate one of the most logistically complex aviation and defence events in the Southern Hemisphere.
The format supports 3 structured industry days, followed by 3 public days, with exhibitor coordination across 28 or more nations. A 2-year cycle allows participating companies time to prepare displays, aircraft deployments, and delegation programmes.
What Is the Avalon Australian International Airshow?
The Australian International Airshow, known as the Avalon Airshow, is the largest airshow in the Southern Hemisphere. It is held at Avalon Airport, Beach Road, Lara, Victoria, positioned between Melbourne and Geelong.
The event is run by the AMDA Foundation in collaboration with the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF). It is supported by the Victorian State Government and the City of Greater Geelong.
The show combines 3 components:
- Trade days — dedicated industry, government, and defence days for exhibitors and delegations
- Static displays — aircraft and aerospace equipment on the ground
- Public airshow — flying displays open to the general public across 3 weekend days
What Happened at the Avalon Airshow 2025?
The Avalon Airshow 2025 ran from 25 to 30 March 2025 and concluded with record industry attendance. It was the 16th biennial edition of the event at Avalon.
How Many People Attended the Avalon Airshow 2025?
The Avalon Airshow 2025 attracted more than 200,000 total attendances across 6 days, including approximately 60,000 attendances across the 3 dedicated industry days — more than 10,000 above the 2023 industry total and more than 20,000 above the 2019 industry total.
The industry days included 902 participating exhibitor companies from 28 nations, plus 291 industry, defence, and academic delegations from 43 countries. This included 20 Chiefs of Air Force or equivalent, 18 international representatives, and 7 US distinguished visitors.
Which Aircraft Displayed at Avalon 2025?
Avalon 2025 featured more than 350 aircraft in the air and on the ground, including 45 aerial display aircraft and 64 exhibited by aviation manufacturers from Bombardier and Dassault to Pilatus, Cessna, Cirrus, and Robinson Helicopters. 70 of the aircraft were military.
Key aircraft and displays included:
- RAAF F-35A Lightning II — Australian debut display; the Lightning II is a 5th-generation stealth multirole fighter produced by Lockheed Martin
- RAAF F/A-18F Super Hornet — a twin-engine, all-weather multirole carrier-based fighter; demonstrated high-G manoeuvres over the airfield
- RAAF Roulettes — the Royal Australian Air Force’s official aerobatic display team, flying Pilatus PC-21 turboprop trainers
- RAAF E-7A Wedgetail — a Boeing 737-based airborne early warning and control aircraft; used as a static and flyby feature
- Boeing AH-64E Apache — Boeing displayed its AH-64E Apache attack helicopter, announcing that the first of 29 ordered by the Australian Army had entered final assembly, with 4 deliveries expected in 2025
- CH-47 Chinook — a twin-rotor heavy-lift helicopter operated by multiple nations
- Republic of Singapore Air Force PC-21 — a turboprop trainer representing international air arm participation
|
Aircraft |
Type |
Operator |
|
F-35A Lightning II |
5th-generation multirole fighter |
Royal Australian Air Force |
|
F/A-18F Super Hornet |
Twin-engine multirole fighter |
Royal Australian Air Force |
|
AH-64E Apache |
Attack helicopter |
Australian Army |
|
CH-47 Chinook |
Heavy-lift helicopter |
Multiple nations |
|
PC-21 |
Turboprop trainer |
Republic of Singapore Air Force |
|
RAAF Roulettes (PC-21) |
Aerobatic display team |
Royal Australian Air Force |
On 28 March 2025, a pilot performing aerial acrobatics in a single-seat biplane crashed at the show. Rescuers pulled the pilot from the wreckage alive, and the pilot was reported in serious but stable condition.
The 2025 show also featured Australia’s largest single aviation industry careers and skills day, with more than 7,000 secondary and tertiary students participating in a programme that included talks from former NASA astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Mike Bloomfield and Australia’s first Australian-flagged astronaut, Katherine Bennell-Pegg.
What Is Confirmed for the Avalon Airshow 2027?
When and Where Does the Avalon Airshow 2027 Take Place?
The Australian International Airshow 2027 is scheduled for 23 to 28 February 2027 at Avalon Airport, Lara, Victoria. The Victorian Government confirmed the event in March 2026.
AMDA Foundation CEO Justin Giddings stated that the Avalon Airshow continues to open doors for Victorian businesses, creating jobs and showcasing innovation, and that securing the 2027 event reinforces Victoria’s position as a national leader in advanced manufacturing and defence industries.
Key confirmed details for the 2027 edition:
- Dates: 23 to 28 February 2027
- Location: Avalon Airport, Beach Road, Lara, VIC
- Organiser: AMDA Foundation in collaboration with the RAAF
- Format: 3 industry days + 3 public days
- Transport: A new Route 18 bus service between Lara Station and Avalon Airport is now operational
Ticket pricing for 2027 has not yet been announced. Tickets for previous public days were priced from approximately AUD $55 for general admission, with children aged 15 and under admitted free. Gold Pass grandstand seats were priced from AUD $220 per seat per day.
What Is the History of the Avalon Airshow?
The first air display at Avalon was held in 1957, when the head of the Port Melbourne Government Aircraft Factories put on a flying display for employees who only ever saw individual parts of aircraft and had never seen the completed result of their work.
The modern public airshow originated elsewhere before moving to Avalon:
- 1988 — The first major Australian airshow was held at RAAF Base Richmond, New South Wales, to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary. It featured the F-15 Eagle, Panavia Tornado F3, Sea Harrier, Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, and a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress flypast.
- 1992 — The airshow moved to Avalon Airport, near Geelong. The 2 public days attracted approximately 175,000 people, with 226 exhibitors from 12 countries.
- 2011 — The 10th Avalon show celebrated the 90th anniversary of the RAAF. More than 195,000 attended and the F-22 Raptor made its first Australian appearance.
- 2023 — Avalon 2023 broke records, with around 248,000 trade and public attendances across 6 days and 794 participating companies from 28 nations.
- 2025 — Record industry attendance with 902 companies from 28 nations and 200,000+ total attendances
What Is the Economic Impact of the Avalon Airshow?
Victoria’s defence sector generates $10.9 billion in annual expenditure and supports more than 29,000 jobs across the state. The Avalon Airshow strengthens the Avalon Airport Industrial Precinct as a major regional economic hub.
The Victorian Government’s investment in the precinct includes Hanwha Defence Australia’s $225 million Armoured Vehicle Centre of Excellence and an $8 million dedicated freight handling and processing facility at Avalon Airport.
For updates on the Avalon Airshow 2027, visit airshow.com.au.
Alex Bradley is a UK-based aviation writer and airshow circuit regular who has spent years attending displays from RIAT at Fairford and the Biggin Hill Festival of Flight to small fly-ins that drew two hundred people and a hot dog van, and values both for entirely different reasons.
He is not a pilot. He is not a PR man for the aviation industry. He is the person in the crowd who has been coming long enough to notice when something has quietly changed, when an organiser is papering over a problem, and when a display is genuinely worth the drive.
His writing on Redhill Airshow covers the British airshow circuit, safety, display team politics, CAA regulations, and the quiet contraction of grass airfield culture that nobody in the industry wants to discuss plainly.
He has stood at Redhill Aerodrome in every kind of English summer weather, watched Tiger Moths bank low over Surrey farmland, and carries strong opinions about what this country is slowly losing one cancelled event at a time.