On the weekend of 22-23 September, the Athens Flying Week International Airshow 2018 took off to new heights with the attendance of more than 60,000 spectators, proving a great success and arousing even stronger emotions in its enthusiastic public.
In response to the enormous popularity of this year’s event, we have the pleasure of announcing the new dates of the country’s largest event, the 8th ATHENS FLYING WEEK on 21-22 September 2019!!!
4,000 foreign visitors, spotters, and journalists travelled from 18 foreign countries to follow Greece’s largest event and one of the most important AIRSHOWS in Europe.
In its 7th consecutive year, Athens Flying Week has established Greece as a destination for thematic Air Sports tourism. Athens Flying Week has been included in the agenda not only of aficionados of the aviation world but also in the lives of all of us.
All aspects of the organization functioned exceptionally well, from the arrival and departure of the public to the layout of parking, but above all the impressive spectacle that the air crews offered and elicited dozens of elated comments from all the visitors.
There is a lot to see this year too. Athens Flying Week 2018 has hosted elite display teams, pilots with special skills, aircraft with amazing capabilities, and flying programmes that astounded everyone.
The Belgian Air Force with the Belgian F-16 Demo Team
The Swiss Air Force, with its F-18 Hornet and PC-7 TEAM, a nine-aircraft aerobatic display.
The Spanish Air Force with two F/A-18s (C.15)
The Polish Air Force with its ORLIC Team
Holland’s Frank van Houten, the ‘Dutch Rush’, with a Sukhoi 26MX
Italy’s legendary Silver Chicken, Luca Salvadori and also the four-time world champion Glider pilot Luca Bertossio and Sweden’s Johan Gustafsson, with his ACRO Glider SZD-59 (with the support of the Athens Gliding Club)
Germany’s Martin Graef, with his Christen Eagle II
The kick-off of this year’s Athens Flying Week-Tanagra International Airshow was given on Friday 21 September by AEGEAN which offered us a unique spectacle in the Attic sky with a low flight above Athens, featuring the Swiss team PC-7 followed by the SKYVAN with the aerial photographers of the air-to-air photography aviation photocrew.
A typical example of a high level of Air Sports activity, the air-to-air photography aviation photocrew was sold out the very same day it announced its participation in the Athens Flying Week, the tickets bought up by enthusiastic air photographers from around the world.
And of course, topping the program, the Greek Armed Forces with the Hellenic Air Force inspired real national pride in every Greek and once more impressed the foreign spectators, with the “Zeus” F-16 Demo Team and, the T-6 A “Daedalus” Demo Team as well as the Mirage 2000 and PHANTOM of our Hellenic Air Force, the Hellenic Navy’s S-70B Aegean Hawk and the Hellenic Army Aviation’s special forces, with their Apache AH64s, Chinook CH-47s and Huey UH-1s.
The WIZARD AEROBATICS and Dimitris Ververelis with his AIRBUS HELICOPTER EC-120B
The Hellenic Skydivers, Skydive Attica and Skydive Athens added a skydiving show but also offered information to those who were tempted to dare and experience this unique and exhilarating adventure sport.
From Romania the Blue Air with BOEING 737-800
Present were George Papagiannis and the Kavala RC Team on aeromodeling demonstrations.
Static displays of antique and modern aircraft were flooded with enthusiastic spectators who seized the opportunity to have an up-close look at rare exhibits.
This year, the most photographed exhibits included the F-18( C-15) from Spain, Casa C-295 from Poland, Aermacchi Μ 346 from Italy as well as the historic American carrier MV-22.
With us, we also had the most striking acquisitions of the Hellenic Armed Forces, which were placed at the disposal of visitors curious to see their interior, as well as the guided tours provided by specialist pilots and engineers.
The public also loved the dynamic night show which roused its excitement with a combination of fireworks, music, and acrobatics in the sky, by world champions Johan Gustafsson from Sweden, Frank van Houten from the Netherlands, and Luca Bertossio from Italy who took good care to close the daily flying program with an explosion of colour and emotion.
The thousands of spectators had a unique experience, enjoyed two sunny days full of adrenaline and powerful images. They dined in the two fully equipped restaurants with shading areas, enjoyed refreshments in the spacious bars and strolled around the trade fair. The little ones enjoyed an amazing play area and a reproduction of a complete army camp from 1940-1945, interactively transporting them through history, an original idea from the Greek Army Re-enactment Team.
The events of the Athens Flying Week-Tanagra International Airshow 2018 came to an end with the traditional closing party during which all the participating teams received awards.
Our co-organizer and partner in this success was the Region of Central Greece.
We are especially proud of the long-standing sponsorship of the Hellenic Tourism Organisation (EOT) which, recognising the unique nature of the Athens Flying Week and its contribution to Greek Thematic Tourism, stands beside us in the country’s largest aviation event.
The presence of our great sponsors was also impressive: Aeroservices, AIA, Ford, Lockheed Martin, Air BP, CAE, Nikon, Hertz, Thales, ΕΑΒ, Factory Outlet, Elit Language Services. They presented their new products to the public and greatly contributed to the complete success of this year’s magnificent aviation event. Together with the hosting sponsors, Amarilia Hotel, NJV Athens Plaza and Athenaeum Intercontinental, we thank them for their trust and support.
