The Pacific Airshow 2026 runs Friday 14 to Sunday 16 August over Surfers Paradise Beach, and Princess Palm makes a calm base for it. This guide covers the five things that shape the weekend: dates and tickets, transport from Palm Beach, the flying highlights, where to eat, and when to book your stay.
What are the dates and do you need a ticket?
The 2026 show flies across three days, 14 to 16 August, over the beach opposite Cavill Avenue at Surfers Paradise. Gates to the ticketed precinct open at 9am and the flying runs from roughly 10am to 3pm each day, more than four hours of displays. You do not need a ticket to see the aircraft; spectators are welcome outside the event precinct free of charge, and the show fills the sky along the whole Surfers stretch. What a ticket buys is the show-centre position, live commentary, crosses to the performers, the parachute landing zone, food vendors and signing sessions. Tickets are on sale now through the official Pacific Airshow site, with general admission through to premium hospitality. This is the event’s return after the 2025 edition was cancelled when Cyclone Alfred hit the coast, and the city has restored the beach for it, so demand is running high. Around 270,000 spectators attended the last full show.
How do you get there from Princess Palm?
Leave the car in our secure car park and go by public transport. From the front door, cross to the Gold Coast Highway where TransLink buses run north to Broadbeach South station, then step onto the G:link tram and ride to Surfers Paradise station, about a five minute walk from the beachfront precinct. Allow about an hour door to door with waiting time. Driving takes 25 to 30 minutes on a normal day, but organisers warn parking near the event is extremely limited and first-come, so the tram is the reliable route home when 270,000 people head the same way. If someone in your group has limited mobility, there is an accessible drop-off near Gate E on View Avenue, and accessible viewing platforms sit at Gates D and E. The bonus of the bus-and-tram run: nobody has to watch the clock, and you can stay for the last display without thinking about a car park exit queue.
What should you watch for in the flying?
The 2026 line-up leans heavily on the RAAF. The F-35 Lightning II stealth fighter returns to the Gold Coast, the Roulettes bring their six-ship precision aerobatics, and the C-130 Hercules flies with support from No. 100 Squadron’s heritage aircraft. On the civilian side, Red Bull Air Race world champion Matt Hall returns, Emma McDonald flies the EA-300, and the warbird set includes a CAC Mustang, a P-40 Kittyhawk and a restored WWII C-47. A BO-105 helicopter also performs its first Australian aerobatic display. The program repeats each day, so one day delivers the whole card; locals who went in 2024 keep mentioning that the Friday session is the quietest of the three, with the same flying and more room on the sand. Earplugs are strongly recommended once the jets open up, especially for young ears, and a pair of binoculars earns its place in the bag.
Where do you eat around the airshow?
Inside the ticketed precinct there are food and drink vendors, and general admission areas let you bring your own snacks, so a picnic on the sand works for families. Note the rules: no glass and no outside commercial takeaway. Surfers Paradise itself has cafes and quick lunch options in every direction from Cavill Avenue, though queues build fast between displays. Our tip is to eat light at the show and save dinner for home ground. Back at Palm Beach, The Collective runs five kitchens under one roof from midday until late, an easy walk-in for a group with mixed tastes, and Balboa Italian at 1069 Gold Coast Highway does wood-fired pizza and handmade pasta a few minutes from the apartment; book ahead on airshow weekend. After a loud day on the sand, dinner ten minutes from your own balcony is the gentlest way to land the evening.
When should you book your stay?
Early. The airshow weekend is one of the biggest of the Gold Coast winter, and 2026 demand carries the pent-up energy of the cancelled 2025 show. Accommodation across the coast fills months out, so lock in your apartment as soon as your dates firm up, and consider bracketing the weekend: arrive Thursday to settle in before the Friday session, and stay through Monday to let the crowds drain before the drive home. Mid-August also sits inside whale season, so a morning watching humpbacks pass and an afternoon watching fighter jets is a genuinely possible double. Palm Beach stays its usual quiet self all weekend, which is exactly the point: full days at the show, calm nights at the southern end.
FAQs
When is the Pacific Airshow Gold Coast in 2026?
Friday 14 to Sunday 16 August 2026, over Surfers Paradise Beach. Gates to the ticketed precinct open at 9am each day and the flying runs from about 10am to 3pm, with more than four hours of displays daily. The program repeats across the three days, so any single day gives you the full show.
Is the Pacific Airshow free to watch?
Yes, from outside the ticketed precinct. The beach and foreshore beyond the event zone are open, and the flying is visible along the Surfers Paradise stretch. Tickets buy you the show-centre view opposite Cavill Avenue, live commentary, performer signings and the parachute landing zone, so casual viewers can keep the day free.
How do you get to the airshow from Palm Beach?
Public transport is the easy way. From Princess Palm, TransLink buses run north along the Gold Coast Highway to Broadbeach South station, where the G:link tram takes you to Surfers Paradise station, a five minute walk from the beachfront. Driving is possible but event parking is extremely limited, so the tram saves the day.
Can you swim at Surfers Paradise during the airshow?
Yes, with one limit. A sterile aerobatic box marked with buoys sits over the water during flying operations, and swimmers and surfers are kept to waist-deep water while displays run. Outside show hours the beach operates normally. Back at Palm Beach, the surf is open as usual all weekend.
What should you bring to the Pacific Airshow?
Sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and earplugs, which organisers strongly recommend for the jet displays. An empty water bottle under one litre can be refilled at stations inside. General admission areas allow your own chair, towel and snacks. Glass, drones, large umbrellas and outside takeaway food are not permitted.
An airshow weekend works best with a base that stays calm while the sky does not, and that is the southern end’s job. When your dates line up with the flying, book your Palm Beach apartment with us and keep an eye on what else is on around the area to build out the rest of the long weekend.
Image credit: Tourism and Events Queensland
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