It is hard to comprehend the scale and the tragedy of the global COVID-19 pandemic. For those of us who were so enthusiastically hosted at the Wuhan International Air Shows in recent years, there is a real fear that many of our friends at the original epicentre of the virus are no longer with us, while here in the UK it is clear that things are likely to get worse before they get better. Certainly we face a wholesale cancellation of aviation events and airshows in the months to come. Even 'standards' such as Farnborough — albeit, from now on, without its public days — and the Royal International Air Tattoo have fallen by the wayside for 2020. Aside from the risks of contagion from large assemblies of the public, there are other issues. As RIAT rightly stated in its cancellation notice, events such as that depend on armed forces from around the world, medical professionals, security teams and emergency services, all of which are on the front line of fighting the COVID-19 crisis. It would be utterly wrong to distract them from this, merely to run an airshow.
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