Warbirds Over Wanaka International Airshow
New Zealand's best known airshow, held at Wānaka Airport over Easter weekend every second year.
Warbirds Over Wanaka runs biennially at Easter and draws crowds of around 60,000 over three days. The programme mixes historic warbirds with modern air force displays, pyrotechnics including a large wall of fire, and an aviation expo. The Friday evening community event on the Wānaka waterfront is free, with aircraft flying against the lake and mountains. The next show is Easter 2028, which marks 40 years since the first one.
Highlights
- Historic warbirds alongside modern air force displays
- Pyrotechnics including New Zealand's largest wall of fire
- Free Friday evening community display on the Wānaka waterfront
- 2028 marks the airshow's 40th anniversary
Good to know
- Location
- Wānaka Airport
- Start point
- Wanaka Airport
- Duration
- Three days over Easter weekend
- Season
- Next show 14 to 16 April 2028, Easter weekend. Held every second year
- Cost
- See venue for current pricing. Tickets go on sale in 2027 through Ticketek, with a priority window for the waitlist
- Family-friendly
- Yes
Date sensitive. The 2026 show has already been held. The next one is Easter 2028, 14 to 16 April, with tickets on sale during 2027 through Ticketek only.
Visiting from Sundale
Warbirds Over Wanaka is held at Wānaka Airport and runs biennially, every second year, over Easter weekend. The next show is 14 to 16 April 2028, which marks 40 years since the first one. There is no show in the years between, so plan the trip around the date rather than the season.
Around 60,000 people come over the three days, so accommodation across Wānaka goes early. Book your site or cabin at the park as far ahead as you can, and expect the roads out to the airport to be busy on each of the three mornings.
The Friday evening community display on the Wānaka waterfront is free, with aircraft flying against the lake and the mountains. The foreshore is a five-minute walk from the park, so that part of the weekend needs no driving and no ticket at all.
Questions
When is the next Warbirds Over Wanaka?
14 to 16 April 2028, over Easter weekend. The airshow is biennial, held every second year, so there is no show in the years in between. 2028 is its 40th anniversary.
How do we get tickets?
Tickets go on sale in 2027 through Ticketek, which is the only authorised vendor, and waitlist holders get a 24 hour priority booking window before general sale.
Is any of it free?
The Friday evening community display on the Wānaka waterfront is free to watch, with aircraft flying against the lake and mountains. The foreshore is a five-minute walk from the park.
Sources
- 2028 airshow dates 14 to 16 April, Easter weekend, over 60,000 visitors, warbird and air force displays, wall of fire pyrotechnics, Future of Aviation Expo, free Friday evening lakeside community event, 40th anniversary since 1988 — source
- Held at Wanaka Airport, biennial pattern at Easter, 2026 show drew around 60,000 over three days, tickets sold through the site — source
- Tickets go on sale in 2027, waitlist holders get a 24 hour priority booking period, Ticketek is the only authorised vendor — source
Nearby
More things to do.
Blue Pools Track
An easy forest walk over two swing bridges to river pools that run an extraordinary blue.
30 minutes one wayEasy walking track
Diamond Lake and Rocky Mountain
A stack of walks off one car park, from a 45 minute lake circuit up to a 775 metre summit above Glendhu Bay.
Diamond Lake Circuit Track return: 45 min. Diamond Lake lookout return: 1 hr. Lake Wānaka lookout return: 2 hr. Rocky Mountain Summit Track return: 3 hr.Sections of this track are steep, with significant fall hazard, and the track is often slippery even in summer
Eely Point Walk
A 20 minute lakeshore walk from Wānaka town to a sheltered picnic and boating spot.
20 min
Your Wānaka basecamp
Make Sundale your base.
Cabins, studios, motels and soft-grass camping, five minutes from the water and close to everything above.