AN airshow taking place in the Tees Valley this spring will be “bigger and better” than the show planned for last year, organisers say.

The Skylive Airshow was due to happen at Durham Tees Valley Airport last August but was postponed in the wake of the Shoreham air disaster in which a vintage display plane crashed onto the A27, killing 11 people.

The Tees Valley event was planned for the weekend after the tragedy but organisers pulled the plug, saying that new Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) regulations would lead to a weakened show.

The Northern Echo: EVENT: Last year's Skylive Airshow was due to host the Vulcan Bomber on its farewell tour before the event was postponed
EVENT: Last year's Skylive Airshow was due to host the Vulcan Bomber on its farewell tour before the event was postponed

Angry ticket holders took to social media to vent their frustrations, with many expressing scepticism that the show was ever going to happen, but a revised event is due to take place on May 28.

An official aircraft line-up has not yet been revealed but show organiser Chris Petty is confident that visitors will be impressed with what is in store.

He said: “We have been busy planning in the background.

“After what happened last year we had no choice but to reschedule the event; things had to be dropped and to bring something (an airshow) back to the region after 25-years just to have it be a fly-by wasn’t enough.”

He added: “We are looking at bringing it back bigger and better, which I think everyone will enjoy.”

Mr Petty said the event will include many other attractions alongside planes and helicopters, including a funfair, food village, live music, army and dog demonstrations plus classic cars and motorbikes.

And although Mr Petty admitted that he “could’ve crawled into a hole” during the angry backlash following the original show’s postponement, he now believes the delay has benefitted the show.

“From an organisers point of view we said we would come back bigger and better again and, so far, from what we are doing and waiting to be confirmed it will be bigger and better than what we first planned,” he said.

A holding website, www.skyliveevents.co.uk, has been set up for people to buy tickets to the May show and tickets bought for last year’s event are valid for the new show.

The website is expected to be fully live and operational in the next few weeks as show organisers are waiting until all planes are confirmed before making any announcements online.