Yeovilton Air Day wins Gold
Royal Naval Air Station Yeovilton Air Day has won a Gold Award in the ‘Tourism Event of the Year’ category at the South West Tourism Excellence Awards 2012-13, hosted by BBC radio journalist Daphne Skinnard and Lloyd Griffith.
The annual air show which took place last July attracted nearly 30,000 visitors who experienced one of the best Air Days in recent years. The judges described the show as “A major event with excellent levels of repeat business and year on year improvements acting as a major draw to the area”.
Although the show put on an exceptional display in the air the whole visitor experience was scrutinised for the awards. Commodore Jock Alexander OBE, Commanding Officer of RNAS Yeovilton said: “This is an outstanding achievement for the Air Station community and our commercial partners, AHA Events Ltd. Despite being extremely busy delivering the high demands of our operational commitments worldwide I am very proud of my team in putting on a top class event on the ground and in the air”.
Air Day 2012 commemorated the 30th anniversary of the Falklands Campaign. When Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on the 2 April 1982 all the Yeovilton Squadrons were brought to immediate readiness to join the Task Force. In total 126 aircraft and over 1400 men from RNAS Yeovilton were deployed in ships in the South Atlantic. The Air Show attracted exceptionally rare displays to the UK including the Antonov AN-124 Ruslan which had not been seen on the UK display circuit for twenty years.
Audrey Huelin director of AHA Events said “Having won Silver last year, we are so thrilled to go onto win Gold this year; it shows how we all strive to make the Air Show more entertaining and exciting for the families that attend each year. It is a privilege to work with the men and women of the Royal Navy”
The organisers are now turning their attention to this year’s Air Day, which will take place on Saturday 13 July.