Lack of funding, planes leads to cancellation of Edmonton-area international airshow

A major Edmonton-area airshow scheduled for next month has been cancelled.

The Alberta International Airshow was slated for Aug. 17-18 before organizers announced Tuesday the show, which sometimes attracts tens of thousands to the Villeneuve Airport northwest of the city, will not go ahead due to unexpected financial and resource issues.

“This beloved non-profit event, which relies heavily on the support of its partners, has faced unforeseen challenges this year both in funding and in getting assets that would make the show successful,” airshow staff said in a post on its website, adding that “assets” that typically come from the Canadian Forces were not available because of “many shows” on bases celebrating 100 years of the Royal Canadian Air Force.

“Without these assets, support from our partners waned. As a team, we explored every available avenue to secure alternative assets and means of funding. Unfortunately, we were unable to secure them in time.”

The airshow has been staged at the Villeneuve Airport off and on since 2015, when the event — at times called the Edmonton Airshow or the Edmonton International Airshow — made its return to area skies for the first time since 2002.

Wet weather grounded the 2019 event, the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out plans for the 2020 show, while the 2022 version was cancelled because of a tragic Snowbirds crash in B.C. that year.

Staff said the airshow and the Villeaero Aerospace and Logistics Conference will return in 2025.