Red Arrows grounded in Canada after US tour

The Red Arrows are stranded in Canada after "poor weather" grounded the aerobatic team.

The jets were due to return to RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire following the Operation Eagle Hawk tour of the US, but the weather forecast for north-eastern regions of Canada has meant they cannot return.

The planes, which are unable to refuel mid-flight, were due to make stops in Canada, Greenland and Iceland before returning to the UK.

In a social media post, the RAF Red Arrows said: "Crossing the North Atlantic with the single-engined Hawk, which cannot air-to-air refuel, requires extremely careful planning and the right conditions."

The RAF said planned post-tour engineering on the aircraft would now take place at Canadian Forces Base Goose Bay, where the jets are currently grounded, to help "expediate" a return to public displays.

The team's next event is scheduled for 14 August at Eastbourne International Airshow, but no return date has yet been announce by the RAF.

The statement said: "The RAF is in contact with airshow organisers as part of its normal season dialogue and planning."

They said a "buffer zone" had already been scheduled in "to help mitigate potential weather delays" and that staff would be taking leave in the UK.

The statement added: "Safety is paramount to all decisions and will remain the only driver as to when the team continues the Atlantic trail."

The team had been in the US as part of a month of displays to mark 250 years since the War of Independence.

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