Bray Air Display 2022

This was an Air Show everything free no hassle getting in or out

As you will see from the articles Salthill was always targeted by Anti War groups over the 17 years it ran for.

I never heard before a wet runway stopping aircraft taking off could they not have gone off one by one then reform and display, why there was no communication about what was going on was terrible, no word on the show line up no word on what was cancelled everyone expected to sit there with your fingers crossed.

The no shows I am aware of

Red Arrows, Lancaster, Spitfire, Hurricane, Viggan, Aer Lingus A320 there may have been more and as for trying to see them they may as well have been in Wales displaying.

According to the announcement made by Red Leader on the tannoy, and on their Twitter feed, it was a combination of an extremely wet runway and the length of it.

The problem is that on such a short runway in the wet is that if they had to abort takeoff for whatever reason there was a very real chance they could overshoot the end of the runway.

They had actually taxi'd out to commence take off shortly before 5 when the shower hit and returned.

I was listening in to Bray Air Control throughout the show, in fairness, they were constantly advising craft holding at Killiney and west of the display line that they were juggling the schedule to accommodate The Arrows. Rescue 116 was holding at Killiney for about 20 mins and was then told to cut the display short ... when it arrived in it was told that things had changed and it could do a full planned display ... then it was told to carry on for a bit longer. At one point it was told that the reds would go first and rescue 116 would then close the show - juggling all options, in real time. The AW139 and EC135 helicopters were holding at the same time and were also being told to change their schedule, before and as they were displaying. There were obviously discussions going on in the background and decisions being made accordingly.

It seemed to be an impossible task.... control were advising other craft that the reds had to display by 17:05 at the latest, and they were trying to accommodate changing weather conditions until they were airborne. None of the armchair experts here were responsible for the safe running of the display and they were not in direct contact with the various display craft that were working through the rapidly changing and at times, borderline safe weather conditions.

As for the traffic/train/crowd issues ..... that's down to people being people and too many expecting to waltz in at their own convenience. The day requires planning and patience by anyone who attends. The default option is public transport, but when people just jump off trains... then all bets are off. I saw comments on social media on Sunday morning where people were complaining that the pre-booked car parks were full and asking what they should do? The pre-booking system was an attempt to control traffic access in advance, if you leave it until Sunday morning to start your preparations, then you are going to be disappointed. People complaining about large slow queues at burger stands with tens of thousands in attendance? .... bring a packed lunch and be self catered for the day. An event of this size is never going to be a 'just rock up whenever and stroll around in comfort', experience. The same with getting home... tens of thousands expecting to leave bray on trains or buses within 15 mins of the event ending..... is never going to happen.

The final display line up was disappointing, but with the weather conditions throughout the day, it was obvious there were going to be last minute cancellations and unfortunately the biggest risk was to the most popular displays. - you can only hold out and hope for so lon,g and I think the organisers are being hammered for trying to carry on until the last possible minute - damned if you do and damned if you don't. Fair play to the Air Corps, they don't have much, but they got everything they had out to Bray. In the end, it was the leader of the reds that called it off, not the display organisers. I am sure that discussions were ongoing about possible options, right up until it was finally abandoned.

If much of the crowd does not return again next year .... it might be a good thing. I would hate to be involved in planning an event in this country, people are guaranteed to always let you down and you are expected to be responsible for whatever trouble they decide to inflict upon you, at their own discretion.

I was there all day too.

The whole thing needs far more stewards and a large Garda presence. The only Gardaí I remember seeing were the Garda Air Support Unit in the actual display itself.

I really dont understand how people can defend whoever put this mess on (I wont touch on 6 hours to get from Bray to Blanch as told use public transport)

3 Portaloos (from what i seen) and 2 public toilets beside ice cream place

NO extra bins (even the small bins where taken off the fences), there was one fella on his own around us with a bag and thongs to pick up rubbish

No running order (could have laminated a put a few around the place) and confusion over start time (which was too late in the first place)

Tell people to stay hydrated then its at the mercy of stalls etc and the queues, why not have a fridge cart thing with bottles of water (again cover costs/money to charity) walking up and down

I seen two people who even paid for the flight deck thing leaving early

If they cant run it properly or deal with numbers, move it away from a public place, charge a nomial fee for parking/admittance with a good lot going to charites/covering costs,even do a VIP deal

Lancaster just underway

Holy **** just seen what looked like a Lancaster or Flying Fortress or something flying over my house.

Dublin Rathfarnham.

Lovely sound off it as it flew over Killiney... Safe home

I heard the drone issue reported on the display frequency..... The Executive helicopter pilot reported it to the control and they organised a search for the operator. The heli pilot (on the ground at the public pad) kept an eye on it and reported it's position while the swallows displayed. He also called back to say that the operator had been found and the Gardaí were having a word with him.

Good to hear that his drone was confiscated.

My understanding is ever since a very near miss at an air display a good few years back it was decided on a H&S basis to only have them at sea. I used to attend them as a kid in Baldonnel in the 80s. Different times back then.

They have had it at Baldonnel. Quite successfully I might add.

It would limit the numbers to those by car and bus. But since the Bray and the Public Transport can't handle the numbers out there. That would seem to be a good thing.

"The day requires planning and patience by anyone who attends"

Wrong. Leaving the planning up to each individual attendee leads to chaos and danger. If the organisers expected 100k people to attend then it's on them to ensure they know how people are going to arrive, where they're going to be set down, how they are going to make their way to the viewing area, how they are going to be fed/watered/toileted when they get there, and how they are going to get everyone back out in reverse. They have to know how many stewards and security are appropriate, what the difference between security and stewards is, where they need to be, and how bad elements are going to be dealt with. It's on them to understand the geography of the area and how they are going to deal with each of the challenges it presents. They should know how they are going to deal with queuing enforcement.

Leaving it up to the individual to behave sensibly doesn't work because crowds don't behave sensibly, and if they're constrained, delayed, and uncertain that leads to panic, crushing, accidents and violence. Leaving people stuck in the heat in a 2 hour wait for transport with no water, food, or facilities, where they feel they can't leave the 2 hour queue without risking not getting their place back, is dangerous and stupid.

Things aren't best for things like hell and back, but that only affects one end of the town and is a tiny crowd by comparison. The organisers of this seem to think they should be held to a similarly low standard.

As to the comment that air control were constantly juggling to "do their best" doesn't make the argument that the poster thinks they're making. It points to a lack of clear, decisive decision making and forward planning.

Bring back Galway great times one of my favourite of the Thunderbirds below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DTAWfFPLr0

Nothing to stop different regions organizing more than one air show if they want.

Fair points, except that the decision not to take off after the rain was made by the Red Arrows lead once they taxied to the runway. They operate to strict operational rules and a Hawk is of course a far lighter machine than a large transport. If you look at the Red Arrows' history, they have had several serious accidents over the years, despite a "safety first" culture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Arrows#Incidents_and_accidents

The fact that one of the team's aircraft developed a snag and couldn't take off for the display complicated matters and delayed their takeoff time. After that the rain intervened and we know the result.

Birr Air Display is on August 1st

https://birrairdisplay.ie/

Sounds like the whole thing was a shambles. Way too many people in Bray, public transport struggling badly to cope, quite a few people acting like lager louts, poor planning all around.

You'd wonder if the event even has a future at that venue.

Except that it has worked reasonably well for several years up to now. Leaving the reduced display aside, what was different this year?