Ottawa's Snowbirds fans have one last weekend to catch the team flying close to home. AERO Gatineau-Ottawa kicks off a three-day run starting today, September 18, 2026, and organizers say it will be the Snowbirds' final appearance in the Ottawa-Gatineau region before the team goes on an extended operational pause.
Where and when
The show takes place at Gatineau Executive Airport, about 20 kilometres east of downtown Ottawa. On Friday, gates open at 5 p.m. and the Snowbirds are scheduled to perform around 6:30 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday, gates open earlier, at 10 a.m., with the Snowbirds flying around 3:30 p.m. both days.
Why this is the last one for a while
After 55 years in the sky, the Snowbirds are retiring their current Canadair CT-114 Tutor jets at the end of this year. The team will eventually fly the CT-157 Siskin II, but the transition means the Snowbirds are expected to be grounded for roughly a decade, with a return unlikely before the early 2030s. AERO Gatineau-Ottawa Director General John Bennett said the pause will be marked accordingly: "Though bittersweet, we will mark the occasion with a celebration befitting this iconic team."
What else is on the schedule
Beyond the Snowbirds, the air show includes a CF-18 tactical demonstration and a performance from the SkyHawks parachute team. Friday night adds a drone and pyrotechnic show after the flying wraps up, giving the opening evening its own distinct draw separate from the daytime programming on Saturday and Sunday.
Tickets
Adult one-day general admission costs $59. Families can get in together for $125, which covers two adults and unlimited children under 12 for the day.
What it means for Ottawa
For a region that has watched the Snowbirds fly overhead for over five decades, this weekend closes a chapter. Ottawa and Gatineau sit close enough that the team's regional shows have long been treated as a shared local tradition rather than a Gatineau-only event, and with the Tutors retiring at year's end, there is no guarantee the same jets, or the same easy drive to see them, will be an option again anytime soon.
Earlier this month
The Snowbirds have been making a farewell tour of Ontario and Quebec air shows this season. ottown's earlier report previewed this same AERO Gatineau-Ottawa weekend earlier in September, while the team also flew its final Toronto appearance over Labour Day weekend, covered in ottown's earlier report.
Anyone hoping to catch the Snowbirds one more time before the decade-long hiatus begins has through Sunday to make it out to Gatineau Executive Airport.
Sources: Ottawa Citizen (via Yahoo News Canada syndication), Ottawa Life Magazine
