AN AIR display team which has made a number of appearances at Bournemouth Air Festival has announced it will cease all flying operations with “immediate effect”.

Team Yakovlevs said the decision had been “tough” and it had hoped to have a full season displaying in 2023 but "sadly this will not be the case". 

The team has previously appeared at Bournemouth Air Festival and featured on last year’s line-up.

Posting on Twitter on Wednesday, March 15, Team Yakovlevs and Skytyping, said: “After long deliberation, the team has taken the tough decision to cease all flying operations with immediate effect.

“We were hoping to have a full season displaying in 2023, but sadly that will not be the case.

“Thank you to those venues that did want us to display at their venue.”

Team Yavoklevs is described as the UK’s only skytyping and formation aerobatic display team.

It says: “We travel the globe skytyping and flying aerobatic displays in our six rare Yak aircraft”.

Jon Weaver, festival director said: “We had not booked the Yakovlevs, as we always wait until we have received our allocation from the Ministry Of Defence before confirming any civilian displays.

“We are expecting the allocation shortly but at the moment we do not yet have any specific civilian displays confirmed for Bournemouth Air Festival.

“The YAKS appeared at the launch of the inaugural Air Festival and have since occasionally displayed at Bournemouth.”

It comes just months after The Blades announced the team had come to an end.

In a statement released on Monday, January 23, the aerobatic display team said “challenges to global economies” and the cost of living crisis had “exacerbated” the challenges facing The Blades.

It said last year was its final full season as the business model had become “unsustainable”.