Where the Red Arrows will fly for Trooping the Colour flypast

The Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team Red Arrows fly past Buckingham Palace as part of the armed forces and veterans' parade commemorating the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe (VE) Day in London, Britain, May 5, 2025. REUTERS/Phil Noble
The Red Arrows will fly over Buckingham Palace and the rest of London today. (Credits: REUTERS)

The RAF’s acrobatic Red Arrows planes are set to put on a major display today to mark King Charles III’s Trooping the Colour.

The display will accompany a parade that will go through central London to mark the King’s ‘second birthday’ with other members of the royal family expected to be taking part in the celebrations.

Those heading out to watch the proceedings and hoping to catch a glimpse of the incredible feat are lucky, as the planes will fly directly over central London this weekend.

Here’s everything you need to know about the Trooping the Colour celebration times and route of the flypast.

Close up on King Charles smiling and wearing a grey suit
Today’s celebrations mark King Charles’ ‘second birthday’.(Photo by Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

What time is the Red Arrows flypast and where are they flying?

The flypast will conclude the Trooping the Colour parade happening across London at 1pm, when the King and the Royal Family make an appearance on the Buckingham Palace balcony to watch the display as it flies over the iconic landmark.

Before it reaches London, however, the Red Arrows will fly over over parts of the UK, starting by taking off from RAF Waddington at around 11am before flying over the Norfolk and Suffolk coasts.

Around midday, the Red Arrow jets will turn over Colchester, Reading, and Chelmsford as they head through London for the main display at 1pm.

Following the display, the jets will then turn towards Windsor and Slough before continuing to Northampton and then Colsterworth.

How can I watch the Trooping the Colour flypast?

Trooping the Colour will be broadcast live on BBC in the UK today. It will include the parade, which starts at 10.30am and ends at 12.25pm at Buckingham Palace, as well as the flypast.

The flypast, and the parade, can also be watched from The Mall and surrounding areas, according to The King’s Birthday Parade.

For those who are close to the Red Arrows’ route, you should be able to see them whizz past by stepping outside of your home.

What aircraft will be taking part?

The RAF Red Arrows during the Eastbourne Air Show 2025 on August 17, 2025 in Eastbourne, England.
Will you be stepping outside to watch the flypast? (Photo by Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images)

The list of aircraft taking part in the flypast has not yet been released, but it will likely be similar to the planes that participated in last year’s event.

The 2025 flypast consisted of 29 aircraft, including four Chinooks, a BBMF Lancaster, two Texans, an A400M Atlas, six Typhoons, two Juno helicopters, a C-17 Globemaster, and two F-35B Lightnings, as well as the Red Arrows.

The Red Arrows performing for The Princess Royal and her husband Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence. (Photo: Yui Mok/PA Wire)
The Red Arrows have unveiled its display schedule for summer 2026, and it’s going to be a busy one. (Credits: Yui Mok/PA Wire)

The dazzling display comes as the Red Arrows kick off their summer schedule of displays. At the end of May, the jets kicked-off display season by making an appearance at the English Riviera Airshow in Torbay.

The daredevil group have confirmed additional displays for the remainder of the summer, including appearances at the RAF Cosford Airshow tomorrow and then several flights across the United States in July before returning to the UK in August and adventuring to mainland Europe.

More recently, the Red Arrows announced a major tweak for the display team as the number of aircraft were reduced from nine Hawk T1 jets to seven as the ageing fleet undergo maintenance.

Full Red Arrows flight schedule for 2026

June 2026

June 13 – HM The King’s Official Birthday Flypast, London
June 14 – RAF Cosford Airshow
June 27 – Sail 250 Maryland & Airshow Baltimore, Maryland, United States
June 28 – Sail 250 Maryland & Airshow Baltimore, Maryland, United States

July 2026

July 4 – International Aerial Review New York City, United States
July 5 – FourLeaf Air Show, Jones Beach, New York, United States
July 6 – FourLeaf Air Show, Jones Beach, New York, United States
July 11 – Great State of Maine Airshow, Maine, United States
July 12 – Great State of Maine Airshow, Maine, United States
July 17 – Thunder Over Michigan Air Show, Michigan, United States
July 18 – Thunder Over Michigan Air Show, Michigan, United States
July 19 – Thunder Over Michigan Air Show, Michigan, United States
July 24 – EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States
July 25 – EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States
July 26 – EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States

August 2026

August 14 – Eastbourne International Airshow
August 15 – Eastbourne International Airshow
August 16 – Eastbourne International Airshow
August 16 – Lyme Regis, RNLI Lifeboat Week
August 19 – Cromer carnival and air display, Norfolk
August 22 – Swedish Air Force 100-Year Anniversary Show 2026, Linkoping, Sweden
August 23 – Swedish Air Force 100-Year Anniversary Show 2026, Linkoping, Sweden
August 27 – Clacton Air Show
August 28 – Clacton Air Show
August 29 – Sidmouth Regatta and air show

September 2026

September 4 – International Ayr Show Festival of Flight, Ayr, Scotland
September 5 – International Ayr Show Festival of Flight, Ayr, Scotland
September 9 – Guernsey air display
September 10 – Jersey international air display
September 12 – IWM Duxford Battle of Britain Air Show, Cambridge
September 13 – tbc
September 19 – NATO days in Ostrava, Czechia
September 20 – NATO days in Ostrava, Czechia
September 29 – Le Touquet airshow, France

October 2026

October 4 – IWM Duxford flying finale

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