The Red Arrows will follow a circular route around eastern and southeastern England, including London, that sees them set off from and return to RAF Waddington in Lincoln
The Red Arrows aerobatic team will trace a route through the UK’s skies this weekend in celebration of Trooping the Colour, with the planes expected to follow a precise track around London and eastern England.
The teams, a mainstay of the annual celebration, typically fly a long distance between air bases, starting from a spot on the East Coast. While the final leg of their short tour is typically the most spectacular – as pilots let loose colourful streams of smoke from behind their aircraft – the rest of the display often elicits huge crowds.
On June 15, 2024, pilots are expected to guide their planes over several hundred miles of land after setting off at around 12.30pm from RAF Waddington in Lincoln. Thousands of Brits will receive an opportunity to catch them in the skies above roughly 19 destinations before they return to their RAF base origin.
According to flypast tracking site Military Airshow, the Red Arrows Trooping the Colour 2024 route is as follows:
- 12.28pm: RAF Waddington
- 12.30pm: West of Martin
- 12.32pm: South of Great Hale
- 12.39pm-12.51pm: Oversea
- 12.55pm: Woodbridge Airfield
- 12.58pm: Vicinity Of Colchester
- 1.03pm: South West of Kelvedon Hatch
- 1.04pm: Fairlop
- 1.05pm: Stratford Velodrome
- 1.06pm: Buckingham Palace
- 1.07pm: Belgravia
- 1.08pm: Brentford End
- 1.09pm: Heathrow
- 1.10pm: Windsor Castle
- 1.14pm: Halton Camp
- 1.20pm: South Of East Haddon
- 1.25pm: Vicinity Of Oakham
- 1.26pm: Cottesmore Airfield
- 1.27pm: West Of Burton-Le-Coggles
- 1.29pm: North Of Belvoir
- 1.32pm: South East Of Bassingham
- 1.33pm: Lincoln
- 1.34pm: RAF Waddington
When the planes make their landmark Buckingham Palace flypast at around 1.06, the Royal Family usually gathers on the palace’s grand balcony. In recent years, Prince Louis has stolen the show with a host of dramatic reactions to the planes’ noisy presence as he stands alongside his more composed siblings and mother and father.
The lineup may not look quite the same in 2024, with Kate, the Princess of Wales, not having confirmed whether or not she plans to attend the traditional debut as she undergoes preventative cancer treatment. The Mirror reported last month that the Princess is understood to be considering making an appearance on the balcony “if she is feeling well enough”.
Kensington Palace has confirmed the Princess did not officially take part in the final dress rehearsal for the King’s birthday celebrations on June 8. But it did not rule out whether she would attend her attendance of the main event on June 14.
