Will I be able to see aircraft with an admission ticket?

Yes, an admission ticket allows you access onto the showground where you can browse all the static displays, trade stands, exhibitions and many other activities. 

There are also viewing lawns where you can sit along the crowd line and view the flying displays. Visitors are welcome to bring blankets, fold away chairs, picnics etc, which can be left at the Drop Zone (left luggage) situated in the Central Service Station.

Related FAQs

Tickets for RIAT need to be purchased in advance. Tickets are not available to purchase at the entry gates. You can purchase tickets online on the day as long as they are available. 

Park and View tickets are the only tickets that can be purchased at the gate. 

  • Under 18s can attend FREE of charge with a ticket-holding adult.
  • Parking remains free of charge for ticket holders, although a car pass must be added to the order.
  • We offer a Personal Assistance Scheme - please see the Accessibility page.
  • We have a limited number of discounted tickets available from Defence Discount Service.
  • We also give over 9,000 tickets to schools to enable teachers and pupils to experience our amazing science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) activities in the Techno Zone®.

In order to manage the process of donating free tickets to other groups, organisations and charities the following criteria applies. Ticket donations for fundraising will be considered for the following:

  1. Schools and community groups situated within the local area of RAF Fairford
  2. Organisations or other registered charities whose work clearly supports or relates to our own mission: To Promote the RAF and Inspire young people and RAF personnel to fulfil their potential in air, space and technology

To apply for tickets, please fill in the form here.

We do not need to have a 'family' ticket as children aged under-18 are free of charge with a ticket holding adult and we do not restrict the number of children per adult. When placing your order on our website please do not forget to order the relevant number of free child passes.

In the Family Enclosure, Viewing Village, Wingtip Garden, Flight Deck & First Class Lounge, children 4 years old and under do not require a ticket as long as they do not occupy a seat. Children aged 5 years and upwards do require a ticket.

In Cotswold Club children under the age of 5 years are not permitted and the Lightning Pavilion does not allow children under the age of 12 years.

The admin fee charged per booking is comparable with other ticket sellers and in many cases is much lower. It pays for the secure transaction facility, installation and maintenance of computerised ticket processing and ticket scanning hardware and software, telephone lines, labour, and other costs associated with ticket purchase and delivery.

We process payments using Stripe, a safe and secure payment gateway option.  Stripe is PCI-compliant and uses 128-bit SSL encryption to protect customers' information.

Yes, the name on the tickets refers to the person who purchased them and doesn't reflect who can get entry to RIAT.

Yes, please see here. E-tickets are emailed along with your confirmation.

Please see clause 9 of our Ticket and Entry Terms and Conditions.