Afgahn operation cancels US base fete

Organisers of the largest military air show in Europe revealed today the event had been cancelled this year due to operations in Afghanistan.

The annual Air Fete at RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, celebrated its 25th anniversary last May.

Colonel Donald Lustig, commander of the United States Air Force (USAF) 100th Air Refuelling Wing, based at the site, said: ‘‘We look at many factors before hosting Air Fete.

‘‘An important aspect this year was our operations workload which has required our aircraft and personnel to be deployed a good deal since September 11 last year.’’

Last year the weekend event attracted its largest crowd of 550,000, with 143 aircraft taking part from 14 countries.

The USAF’s KC-135 Stratotankers are responsible for refuelling US, Nato and allied aircraft between northern Norway and South Africa.

The aircraft have played a vital role in refuelling cargo planes dropping food aid in Afghanistan, and bombers.

Colonel Lustig said: ‘‘Although we won’t have the pleasure of hosting Air Fete this year, we have had numerous requests to take part in the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations.

‘‘We plan to participate in these events to the maximum extent possible, in recognition of our close ties with Her Majesty’s government and the British people.

‘‘It was a difficult decision to make and took a few months to review all of our avenues to bring this annual showcase to Britain, but in the end we could not guarantee the calibre of event that people expect of an Air Fete at RAF Mildenhall.’’

The air show was cancelled in 1999 due to operations in Kosovo.

The air show is scheduled to resume next year, but will not take place in 2004 due to an runway resurfacing project.