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Tickets for the final Canadian Forces Snowbirds hometown airshow moved as quickly as the fleet of jets soaring by.
Roger Blager, president of the Moose Jaw Flying Club, said all tickets for the July 11 aerobatic demonstration at the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport sold out in 18 minutes.
“We were just blown away, like we couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I was surprised that the website didn’t crash.”
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The performance will be the final Saskatchewan date where people can see the fleet of aging CT-114 Tutor jets before they are grounded.
The federal government decided the Snowbirds team will be grounded until the early 2030s while its aging planes are replaced with CT-157 Siskin II aircraft.
Blager said he understands there are many folks who want to see the Canadian-made Tutor jets fly one last time.
The Snowbirds fly during an air show performance in Moose Jaw in 2024. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)
“We understand the angst, we really, really do,” he said. “But we had this planned long before this announcement was ever made.
“We had no way of anticipating the demand.”
Tickets for the airshow are sold by the “car load,” according to Blager – with attendees paying per vehicle – because the airport only has so much space for parking. He said the airport only has a set amount of tickets available because it needs to leave room for additional emergency services.
“There’s not really a parking lot,” he said. “We’re parking people on the on the taxiway that aircraft would normally use.”
With all 500 tickets spoken for, Blager estimated at least a 2,000 people will be in attendance at the show.
Blager said the final performance is at the Moose Jaw Municipal Airport to let the pilots continue training at the military base at 15 Wing Moose Jaw.
“Even the Snowbirds don’t just have the right to go and fly over there (the military base),” he said. “So, doing it in our airspace has been something that we’ve been able to accommodate them.”
The money made from the airshow goes back into maintenance at the hometown airport.
Many people expressed their dismay about the Snowbirds being grounded for a few years after the 2026 season.
Growing up in Moose Jaw, Blager said watching the Snowbirds soar was part of the inspiration behind him obtaining his own pilot’s license.
“There’s a huge demand for the show and it’s really the heart and soul of Saskatchewan,” he said. “Everybody I talked to has got their own story about growing up and seeing the Snowbirds.
“There’s a great deal of nostalgia and connection.”
