Warbirds over Wanaka has been cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery

The Southern Hemisphere’s largest Warbirds Airshow, Warbirds Over Wanaka, has announced it is not going ahead in the wake of the New Zealand Government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Easter airshow had been expected to attract 55,000 people over the three days with several thousand of those international visitors.

Warbirds Over Wanaka General Manager, Ed Taylor, said the decision to cancel was not taken lightly.

“We have a small but dedicated team, many of them volunteers, who have spent the past two years building up to this event and to have it ripped out from under us at the last minute is tough.

But, at all times we have the safety of our participants and visitors at heart and so have to accept we won’t have an Airshow this year.”

Mr Taylor said they took into account the travel restrictions announced by the Government this weekend and also impending restrictions on large public gatherings and have made the call based on the safety of participants and Airshow visitors alike.

He said they looked at various options such as holding a smaller Airshow just for locals or postponing to a later date but with uncertainty still around how the pandemic will play out, it was thought the best option for everyone was to cancel.

Mr Taylor said organisers will now be working with their sponsors and suppliers to minimise the financial impact on the organisation and then start working towards the next Airshow at Easter, 2022.

All tickets will be refunded in full but have asked ticket holders to wait for a few days while organisers confirm specifics about how people will be able to access refunds, Mr Taylor said.