Comment: Red Arrows debacle. Too late for comfort

How can a display be cancelled just hours before it was due to take place?

Jason Moore26/09/2023 08:15

Minorca was not a happy place this morning. On Monday night everyone was left stunned by the decision to cancel the display, this morning the mood had turned to anger. How could a display which had been planned for months be called off at the last moment? The performance by the Red Arrows is obviously a big event in Minorca. Thousands of people had made preperations; food and drink had been bought, restaurants reserved, hotels booked, yachts chartered. Infact, it is reported that during the last display by the Red Arrows five years ago the Minorcan economy benefitted to the tune of five million euros.

The local media in Minorca said that the decision had a "Gibraltar slant." Spain was not impressed that the Red Arrows were heading to "the Rock" after their display over Mahon. The initial story said that the Spanish Ministry of Defence had said that the Red Arrows did not have permission to perform in Spanish airspace then it was claimed that the British Ministry of Defence had called off the performance. Who is to blame? No-one is too sure but it was too late for comfort.

Questions will be asked. Was it wise for the Red Arrows to go to Gibraltar after their display in Minorca considering the tensions in Spain regarding "the Rock"? Is Spain, once again, acting out of character over Gibraltar? Who knows, but my heart goes out to the people of Minorca who had planned and organised a great event only for their plans to be dashed at the last moment.