Councillors granted the Thruxton air festival its licence with 30 conditions, a 14,999 cap and no airborne fireworks this year. The show runs 12-13 September.

The Hampshire Air Festival has been granted its premises licence, 17 days before the show opens at Thruxton. Three Test Valley councillors attached 30 conditions, capped the site at 14,999 people and banned airborne fireworks this year. (Printed decisions, Licensing Sub-Committee, 26 August 2026)

The decision was taken on 26 August and published on the council’s committee site on 1 September. It grants a permanent licence to Montserrat Events and Festivals Limited for Thruxton Race Circuit and Aerodrome, SP11 8PN.

We reported the application before the hearing, when 26 residents had objected. This is what the councillors actually decided.

The licence is permanent, and the committee said so deliberately

Condition 13 authorises licensable activities for the festival on one Friday, Saturday and Sunday each calendar year, in September. There is no end date.

Objectors had asked for the licence to be limited to a single year, so the effect on the villages could be tested first. The sub-committee refused. Its published reasons say the Licensing Act already contains a review mechanism if the licence is breached, and that this “provides an important safeguard for the public”.

The three councillors who heard it were Jan Budzynski, in the chair, with Iris Andersen and Karen Dunleavey.

The conditions that change what happens on the field

The 30 conditions came from Environmental Health and the police, amended at the hearing. The ones a visitor or a neighbour will notice:

  • No airborne fireworks in 2026. That is condition 30, in full.
  • Site capacity of 14,999 people, counting ticket holders, performers, guests and staff.
  • Open-air music only between 10:00 and 23:00, and no more than 12 hours in any 24.
  • A sound limit at the mixing desk of 91 dB(A), with a noise consultant appointed to monitor levels at each event.
  • A community helpline, with a phone number and email, published locally at least seven days before the event.
  • Under-18s must be accompanied by a responsible adult at all times, as a condition of entry.
  • No glass bottles or glasses in public areas, and no bringing your own alcohol except in the dedicated camping zones.
  • A formal review meeting within two months of each festival, with Thruxton, Kimpton and Fyfield parish councils invited.

The licence arrived so late the council relaxed its own deadline

Condition 14 normally requires the final Event Management Plan to reach the licensing team and the police 28 days before each event. That was impossible this year, because the licence was granted 17 days before the gates open, and published 11 days before.

So the condition carries a bracketed exception. For 2026 only, the final plan must be in at least seven days before the event, “due to the timing of the grant of this Licence”. From next year the 28-day rule applies.

That timing is not the organiser’s fault alone. The first application, made on 5 March, was not properly advertised and had to be resubmitted on 3 July.

Key dates for the Hampshire Air Festival licence

What the committee refused to rule on

Residents raised more than noise. The published reasons deal with each point, and several of them were pushed outside the licensing system altogether:

  • The flying itself. The committee said the air display is regulated separately by the Civil Aviation Authority, and is not a licensing matter.
  • People watching from the roadside. Non-ticketed spectators outside the site do not take part in licensable activities, so the committee would not condition the licence for them. It sent the safety question to the Safety Advisory Group.
  • Traffic through Thruxton village. Also referred to the Safety Advisory Group, with the highway authority involved, through the Traffic Management Plan.
  • Livestock and the local stables. The committee said it was sympathetic but had no power over aircraft noise, and that the welfare of horses “did not fall under any of the licensing objectives”.

Police and the fire authority raised no objection. Neither did the council’s own planning service.

The fireworks question is not straightforward

Condition 30 bans airborne fireworks this year. The organiser had already gone further on its own. It announced last month that it was dropping the ground-based firework finale, citing the government alert on dry conditions and wildfire risk. The budget would go into an expanded drone show instead. (Hampshire Air Festival, important announcement)

The festival’s own ticket page has not caught up. It still describes the Saturday ticket as including “pyro-aerobatics, light show, drone display and fireworks finale”. (Hampshire Air Festival tickets) If you are buying a Saturday ticket for the fireworks, that is worth knowing before you pay.

What it means for you

The festival runs on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026 at Thruxton Aerodrome, SP11 8PN. There is no evening event on the Sunday.

Advance prices on the organiser’s site, at the time of writing:

Ticket Advance On the day
Saturday adult (18+) £42.50 £47.50
Saturday child (5-17) £15.00 £15.00
Sunday adult (18+) £32.50 £37.50
Sunday child (5-17) £10.00 £12.00
Under 5s Free Free

Camping runs Friday to Monday, at £65 for a tent pitch and £95 for a caravan or motorhome, and you need admission tickets for both days to use it. The standard camping area sits under the flight path, so bookers have to vacate it during display times.

Getting there, from the organiser’s directions: leave the A303 and follow signs for Thruxton Circuit only, not Thruxton village. Andover station is about ten minutes away.

Anyone aggrieved by the licensing decision, including residents who objected, has 21 days from being notified to appeal to the magistrates’ court.

Check Andover roadworks and travel before you set off, and our parking guide if you are coming into town first. More local events are in things to do in Andover.

Sources