Pacific Airshow returns to Gold Coast after cancellation due to Cyclone Alfred
Consensus Summary
The Pacific Airshow is returning to Surfers Paradise beach on the Gold Coast after being cancelled last year due to damage from Cyclone Alfred. Both sources confirm the event debuted in Queensland in 2023, following its original start in California in 2016. ABC provides detailed attendance figures, economic impacts, and specific aircraft displays, including the RAAF Roulettes, F-35 Lightning, and C-130 Hercules, while noting the event spans three days and features speeds up to 700 kilometres an hour. The Guardian focuses on the cancellation and return but lacks specific numbers or economic details. Recovery efforts led by the Gold Coast City Council, including a $37 million sand replenishment project over 18 months, have restored the coastline, enabling the event’s return.
✓ Verified by 2+ sources
Key details reported by multiple sources:
- The Pacific Airshow was first held in California in 2016
- The Pacific Airshow debuted in Queensland in 2023
- The Pacific Airshow is taking place at Surfers Paradise beach
- The Pacific Airshow is returning for three days
Points of Difference
Details reported by only one source:
- The Pacific Airshow was cancelled last year (2025) due to damage caused by Cyclone Alfred
- The event is returning over the weekend (no specific dates mentioned)
- More than 250,000 spectators attended the Pacific Airshow in 2024
- The event is generating nearly $40 million for the local economy this year
- The economic benefit in 2024 was $33 million
- A $37 million Gold Coast City Council-led recovery effort restored the coastline over 18 months
- The air show starts today and continues tomorrow and on Sunday
- The RAAF Roulettes, F-35 Lightning, C-130 Hercules, and an MBB Bo-105 helicopter are on display
- The C-130 Hercules will be on display across the weekend
- The event features a jet pack demonstration approved after two-and-a-half years
- Fighter aircraft on display reach speeds of 700 kilometres an hour
- Accommodation occupancy is at over 80 per cent, with confidence to hit 90 per cent of tickets sold on Saturday
- The event includes historical aeroplanes like the Supermarine Spitfire and P-51 Mustang
- The RAAF Roulettes travelled from eastern Victoria to participate
Contradictions
Conflicting information between sources:
- The Guardian states the Pacific Airshow was first held in California in 2016, but ABC does not mention this origin year
- The Guardian does not mention attendance numbers or economic benefits, while ABC reports 250,000 attendees in 2024 and $40 million economic impact this year
- The Guardian does not specify the duration of the event as three days, while ABC explicitly states it spans three days
Source Articles
Pacific Airshow takes to the skies above the Gold Coast – in pictures
Aerobatic feats and big military jets drew crowds of plane-spotters to Surfers Paradise beach for the return of the Pacific Airshow over the weekend. First held in California in 2016, the event came to Queensland in 2023 but was cancelled last year due to damage caused by Cyclone Alfred Continue reading...
Australia's biggest spectator air show returns to Gold Coast
An international air show that is expected to bring in $40 million is returning to the Gold Coast after ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred decimated the city's beaches in 2025.