The skies over Surfers Paradise will remain quiet this August, with organisers of the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast officially cancelling the 2025 event due to severe and ongoing beach erosion triggered by Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred.
Originally slated for 15–17 August 2025, the third edition of the Airshow has been grounded as recovery efforts along the beachfront continue to struggle against relentless weather and coastal conditions. The decision was confirmed this week by the event organisers, who said the team was “devastated” but resolute that the move was the only responsible choice.
For pilots, aviation fans, and the thousands of families who flocked to the sands of Surfers Paradise in 2023 and 2024, the news comes as a significant blow. The Pacific Airshow had quickly cemented itself as a must-see spectacle, bringing the roar of military jets, aerobatic legends, and coastal energy together in one of the world’s most iconic beachside locations.
But as Airshow Director Kevin Elliott explained, Mother Nature had other ideas.
“Big surf, high tides and unusually persistent rainfall since the cyclone have created a perfect storm of events that has been detrimental to recovery efforts,” he said. “It’s been one step forward, two steps back with beach sand replenishment.”
The problem isn’t small. According to the City of Gold Coast, over 4 million cubic metres of sand—the equivalent of 320,000 semi-trailer loads—have been stripped from the coastline. Surfers Paradise, the heart of the airshow’s beachfront precinct, has suffered a drop in beach height of around two metres, with sand cliffs up to six metres high in some areas.
The extent of erosion at Surfers Paradise Beach has affected the viability of the event site for the more than 200,000 attendees expected this year. Despite the City’s ongoing restoration efforts using ships, trucks and pumps, recurring king tides and large swells have limited progress.
Elliott noted that the team had “modelled every option,” including relocating the event or shifting dates. But no alternative allowed them to uphold the standard of safety and showmanship the airshow had become known for.
“We couldn’t find a way to keep our community safe without compromising the show—either in the air or on the ground—and neither of those were acceptable outcomes for us.”
Indeed, that’s the promise from Elliott and his team, who confirmed dates for next year—14 to 16 August 2026—with a bold tagline: “Bigger, Faster & Louder.”
