Red Arrows touch down in Stornoway

25 September 2024

Three-year-old Matthew Macleod from Tong was delighted to receive a special Red Arrows sticker

After five weeks entertaining and inspiring millions of people, the Royal Air Force Aerobatic Team (RAFAT) - better known as the Red Arrows - returned home from a hugely-successful tour of Canada.

The team landed in Stornoway for a brief visit to refuel yesterday (Tuesday) before taking off for the last leg of their journey to RAF Waddington.

Engineers and team support staff - known as the Blues - awaited them at Stornoway having arrived on a RAF Atlas transport aircraft - late the previous night.

It marked the end of a tour called Maple Hawk, which took the Red Arrows across the Atlantic to help celebrate the centennial of the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF).

They called-in at Stornoway on that occasion also.

On the flight home there was a stop at Goose Bay before leaving Canada and heading to Narsarsuaq in Greenland, then Keflavik in Iceland. The next stage was to Stornoway and finally RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire.

Accompanying the outbound and inbound transits were Atlas transport aircraft from RAF Brize Norton and Poseidon maritime patrol plane based at RAF Lossiemouth.