Poplix News Pulse English (UK)
PoPlix.uk Poplix News Pulse
Blog Business Local Politics Tech World

Red Arrows Flight Path Today Live: Official Tracker & Map

Henry Alfie Clarke Davies • 2026-05-04 • Reviewed by Sofia Lindberg

If you’ve ever strained your neck watching the sky, hoping to catch the Red Arrows sweeping overhead, you know the frustration of missing a flypast by minutes. There’s now a whole toolkit of live trackers and scheduled displays that can keep you in the loop — and the 2025 season brings some standout dates worth planning around.

Aircraft: 9 Hawk T1 ·
2025 Season: Displays and flypasts across UK ·
Live Tracker: rafredarrows.co.uk ·
Official Site: raf.mod.uk ·
Display Schedule: military-airshows.co.uk

Quick snapshot

1Confirmed facts
  • Nine Hawk T1 aircraft flew in 2025 — first full formation since 2021 (British Airshows)
  • VE Day 80 London flypast confirmed for 05 May 2025 (Military Airshows)
  • Live tracker refreshes positions throughout each flying day (Flightradar24)
2What’s unclear
  • Exact times for today’s flights until rollout begins
  • Route maps and GPS coordinates for specific flypasts not published publicly
  • Full Canada Maple Hawk tour date list still pending confirmation
3Timeline signal
  • RAF Waddington return: 04 May 2025, 2.15pm–3.30pm
  • Canada tour: late August–mid September 2025
  • International Ayr Show: 06 September 2025 at 6.25pm
4What’s next
  • Royal International Air Tattoo appearances from July onwards
  • Canada “Maple Hawk” tour for RCAF 100th Anniversary
  • 2026 schedule expected to include early venue announcements
Label Value
Team Royal Air Force Red Arrows
Aircraft Hawk T1 x9
Tracker Site rafredarrows.co.uk
Display Info raf.mod.uk
2025 Return Date 2025-04-12 (first post-training at RAF Waddington)
VE Day Flypast 2025-05-05 (London)
Canada Tour Period Late August–mid September 2025
Last Schedule Review 2025-07-10 (Airshowcenter.com)

Where are the Red Arrows right now live?

The primary real-time tool is the official RAF Red Arrows live tracker at rafredarrows.co.uk. This site refreshes position data throughout each flying day, giving you the most current view of the formation’s location.

Current position on live tracker

  • The official tracker shows rolling updates for today’s flights once the team has rolled out
  • Positions update at regular intervals during transit and display phases
  • Best results when the team is actively flying — tracker may show static data during non-flying days

Real-time flight path updates

For the most detailed real-time view, Flightradar24 provides live flight tracking that covers military traffic including Red Arrows formations. FlightAware offers dedicated squadron maps for the Display Squadron’s aircraft. PlaneFinder.net, operating since 2009, serves as a trusted alternative for worldwide flight tracking.

Why this matters

The official RAF tracker gives you the most reliable positions for scheduled flights, while third-party tools like Flightradar24 can catch unscheduled transit legs that the official site may not highlight in real time.

Where will the Red Arrows fly over?

The Red Arrows cover significant ground during the UK season, with flypasts ranging from major city landmarks to regional airfields. Each venue gets a specific time window, though exact street-level routes are rarely published in advance.

Today’s planned flyover locations

  • RAF Waddington return flypast on 04 May 2025 between 2.15pm and 3.30pm
  • VE Day 80 London flypast on 05 May 2025 — one of the season’s flagship events
  • Sessions may include transit flyovers en route to/from main displays

Route maps for displays

Official route maps with GPS coordinates are not published publicly. Metcheck.com displays upcoming formation route forecasts and weather data for planning purposes. The GOV.UK website publishes RAF operational low flying timetables for tactical training areas, which gives context for training transit patterns even if not showing specific display routes.

The catch

Route maps for specific flypasts remain unpublished. If you want to position yourself under a flight path, you need to check the venue location and cross-reference with the scheduled display time — the team will typically approach from a logical airbase direction.

How to track Red Arrows?

Tracking the Red Arrows involves combining official RAF resources with third-party flight tracking platforms. Each tool has strengths depending on whether you need official schedule data or real-time positional information.

Using official RAF tracker

  • Visit rafredarrows.co.uk for the most current official positions during flying days
  • Check raf.mod.uk for authoritative display schedule information
  • RAF social media accounts post rolling updates during major events

Flightradar24 integration

Flightradar24 offers real-time live flight tracking that covers military aircraft movements. The platform displays aircraft positions on a map interface, with coverage extending across UK airspace. You can set up alerts for when Red Arrows aircraft enter your monitored area. FlightAware provides dedicated fleet tracking for the Display Squadron specifically at flightaware.com/live/fleet/SAK.

The upshot

The official RAF tracker works best for scheduled display days. When you want to catch a transit flypast or check on weather-affected route changes, Flightradar24’s broader coverage catches those unscheduled movements that the official site may not highlight in real time.

What time is the Red Arrows flypast today?

Timing depends on whether the team is performing a display or a flypast. Displays typically have a fixed public time window, while flypasts (like the VE Day London appearance) have specific scheduled times published in advance.

VE Day and event timings

  • VE Day 80 London Flypast: 05 May 2025 — flagship event with confirmed time window
  • RAF Waddington return: 04 May 2025, 2.15pm to 3.30pm
  • King’s Birthday Flypast in London: 14 June 2025 at 1.06pm

Transit and display times

Transit times between venues are not published publicly. Display times at major venues are confirmed on military-airshows.co.uk. For the most accurate upcoming schedule, Airshowcenter.com maintains current display information with their last review on 10 July 2025.

The pattern: Schedule reliability comes from official RAF sources, but real-time position data requires switching to third-party trackers on the day itself.

Red Arrows display schedule and maps

The 2025 season runs from April through September, with the team performing at venues across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. International appearances include the Canada Maple Hawk tour for the RCAF 100th Anniversary.

2025 and 2026 timetables

  • Full UK season schedule available at military-airshows.co.uk with confirmed times for each venue
  • Canada tour scheduled for late August to mid September 2025
  • 2026 schedule expected to include early venue announcements through airshowcenter.com
  • Pre-season training completed at Tanagra, Greece under Exercise Springhawk

Free live maps

The official RAF tracker at rafredarrows.co.uk provides the most reliable free live positions. Flightradar24 and PlaneFinder.net offer free map interfaces with real-time aircraft positions, though filtering specifically for Red Arrows may require some navigation through their broader flight coverage.

What to watch

The 2025 season is the first since 2021 to feature the full nine-aircraft formation, bringing back the full display sequence. If you’ve only seen recent truncated displays, this season represents the complete performance.

How to Follow the Red Arrows Step by Step

Following the Red Arrows effectively requires combining multiple tools depending on whether you need real-time positions or advance schedule information.

  1. Check the schedule first: Visit military-airshows.co.uk or airshowcenter.com for confirmed display times and venues ahead of each event.
  2. Bookmark the official tracker: Open rafredarrows.co.uk on the day of a scheduled display or flypast to monitor live positions.
  3. Set up Flightradar24 alerts: Create an alert for Red Arrows aircraft codes to get notified when they become airborne in your region.
  4. Monitor transit routes: During multi-stop days, Flightradar24’s broader coverage can catch the formation moving between venues when the official tracker may only show display positions.
  5. Cross-reference weather: Use Metcheck.com’s forecasts to anticipate route changes that weather might trigger — bad conditions have caused cancellations like the Old Buckenham Airshow on 26 July 2025.
The trade-off

No tool gives you both the official schedule reliability and real-time positions in one place. You need to check the official RAF sources for confirmed times and dates, then switch to Flightradar24 or the official tracker for live positions on the day.

Red Arrows Timeline 2025

The timeline below consolidates the key dates from the official military-airshows.co.uk schedule.

Date/Period Event
April 2025 Pre-season training (Tanagra, Greece)
12 April 2025 First post-training return to RAF Waddington (2pm–3pm)
04 May 2025 RAF Waddington return (2.15pm–3.30pm)
05 June 2025 VE Day 80 London Flypast
08 June 2025 RAF Cosford Air Show (3.10pm)
14 June 2025 King’s Birthday Flypast, London (1.06pm)
21 June 2025 Multiple flypasts: Carrickfergus Castle (2.05pm), Morecambe (5.56pm), RAF Cranwell (6.17pm)
29 June 2025 Isle of Wight Armed Forces’ Day (11.45am), Battle of Britain Airshow Headcorn (5.15pm)
05–06 July 2025 Wales National Airshow Swansea, British GP Silverstone flypast
26 July 2025 Old Buckenham Airshow cancelled (weather)
27 August 2025 Old Buckenham Airshow rescheduled (3pm)
Late September 2025 Mid-season break begins
Late Aug–Mid Sep 2025 Canada Maple Hawk tour (RCAF 100th Anniversary)
06 September 2025 International Ayr Show, Scotland (6.25pm)
07 September 2025 Great North Run, Newcastle/South Shields (1.45pm)

The implication: The dense schedule from April through July leaves limited buffer for weather cancellations or last-minute venue changes.

Confirmed facts

  • Official RAF schedules published at raf.mod.uk and military-airshows.co.uk
  • Live tracker positions update throughout each flying day at rafredarrows.co.uk
  • Full nine-aircraft formation returned in 2025 — first since 2021
  • VE Day 80 London Flypast confirmed for 05 August 2025
  • Canada Maple Hawk tour confirmed for late August to mid August 2025
  • Old Buckenham Airshow cancelled 26 August 2025 due to poor weather

What’s unclear

  • Exact times for today’s flights until rollout begins
  • Full route maps and GPS coordinates not published publicly
  • Complete Canada tour date list pending final confirmation
  • RAF Families Days displays remain unpublished
  • 2026 detailed schedule beyond Canada mention not yet available

What the Experts Say

The 2025 season marks the return to full nine-aircraft strength, first seen since 2021, with new manoeuvres added to the display sequence.

— British Airshows (airshow news outlet)

Flightradar24 provides real-time live flight tracker maps covering military traffic including Red Arrows formations across UK airspace.

— Flightradar24 (flight tracking platform)

The pattern across the 2025 season is clear: the Red Arrows are operating at full strength with more UK venues than in recent years, while the Canada Maple Hawk tour represents their most significant international commitment since pre-pandemic schedules. For anyone tracking today’s flight path, the official RAF tracker works for scheduled events, but you’ll need Flightradar24’s broader coverage to catch the formation during unscheduled transit legs or weather-related route adjustments. The implication for spectators is straightforward: plan around the published schedule at military-airshows.co.uk, but keep the real-time trackers open on the day itself, because the exact route overhead can shift based on air traffic and weather conditions that no schedule can predict in advance.

Related reading: Live Updates & Trackers · Today’s Schedule

Fans following the Red Arrows displays today often consult the Red Arrows status tracker for detailed routes and real-time updates alongside official RAF maps.

Frequently asked questions

What is the Red Arrows flight path map today?

No public flight path map with GPS coordinates exists. The official RAF tracker at rafredarrows.co.uk shows live positions during flying days. For venue-based events, the display location and approximate time are published at military-airshows.co.uk, but the exact route overhead is not mapped publicly.

Where to find Red Arrows 2026 schedule?

The 2026 schedule has not been fully published. Airshowcenter.com last reviewed the 2025 schedule on 10 July 2025 and notes that the 2026 schedule will include a Canada crossing for the RCAF 100th Anniversary. Check airshowcenter.com and raf.mod.uk for updates as they become available.

Is there a free Red Arrows live map?

Yes, the official RAF Red Arrows tracker at rafredarrows.co.uk provides free live positions during flying days. Third-party options like Flightradar24 and PlaneFinder.net offer free map interfaces with real-time flight tracking that covers military aircraft movements.

How to use Flightradar24 for Red Arrows?

Open Flightradar24.com and search for UK airspace on the day of a scheduled display. Set up alerts for when aircraft enter your monitoring area. FlightAware at flightaware.com/live/fleet/SAK offers dedicated Display Squadron fleet tracking specifically for the Red Arrows.

What are Red Arrows transit timings?

Transit timings between venues are not published publicly. On multi-stop days like 21 June 2025 (Carrickfergus Castle at 2.05pm, Morecambe at 5.56pm, and RAF Cranwell at 6.17pm), the exact transit route is not released in advance.

Where are Red Arrows displays listed?

Confirmed display and flypast schedules are listed at military-airshows.co.uk with specific times for each venue. Airshowcenter.com provides additional venue coverage and last reviewed the schedule on 10 July 2025. The official RAF site at raf.mod.uk also publishes display information.

Can I track Red Arrows on mobile?

Yes, all major tracking tools work on mobile browsers. Flightradar24 offers a mobile app for iOS and Android with real-time tracking and alert capabilities. The official RAF tracker at rafredarrows.co.uk is responsive for mobile use on display days.



Henry Alfie Clarke Davies

About the author

Henry Alfie Clarke Davies

Coverage is updated through the day with transparent source checks.