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Summary for: NATO Days kicks off in Czechia with Red Arrows, military displaysNATO Days in Ostrava kicked off Saturday morning, bringing aircraft, military hardware and emergency services from 14 countries to Leoš Janáček Ostrava Airport in Mošnov for Europe's largest security show.
The free two-day event features more than eight hours of aerial and ground demonstrations each day, with Britain's Red Arrows aerobatic team and Germany's Tornado fighter aircraft among this year's major attractions.
Visitors traveling by car should expect significant delays. Traffic queues reached around nine kilometers from the direction of Studénka and the D1 motorway Saturday morning, with police warning that drivers could spend as long as two hours waiting.
Queues of around five kilometers were also reported from Ostrava and three kilometers from Příbor. Organizers recommend using trains or bicycles where possible, with guarded bicycle parking available at the site.
Red Arrows and a Czech aircraft premiere
Germany is this year's special partner country and will stage a full flying display with the Panavia Tornado, known for its distinctive variable-sweep wings.
The appearance also has a historical connection to NATO Days. A Tornado — then operated by Britain's Royal Air Force — became the event's first foreign aircraft participant in 2005, though it did not perform a full demonstration at the time.
The Czech military, meanwhile, is publicly displaying its C-390 Millennium transport aircraft in Czech colors at NATO Days for the first time.
Other Czech equipment on show includes Leopard 2A4 tanks, CV90 infantry fighting vehicles and TITUS armored vehicles.
President Petr Pavel, Prime Minister Andrej Babiš and Defense Minister Jaromír Zůna are among the officials expected to attend Saturday.
Interior Minister Lubomír Metnar will also recognize Czech firefighters and other personnel who took part in international missions in Venezuela, Greece and France this year. More than 150 new police officers and firefighters are due to take their service oaths during the weekend.
NATO Days was first held in Ostrava in 2001 and regularly attracts tens of thousands of visitors from Czechia, Poland and Slovakia. Around 150,000 people attended last year's event, while attendance has topped 200,000 in some previous years.
The event continues through Sunday at Leoš Janáček Ostrava Airport in Mošnov. Admission is free. Find more info at the official NATO Days website.
