Longleat Red Bull Airport

Event Conclusion. The 'airport' was not a permanent, licensed airfield but a temporary facility created specifically for an event. It was established on the grounds of the Longleat Estate to host the UK leg of the Red Bull Air Race. After the last race was held there in June 2006, the temporary infrastructure was removed, and the land was returned to its normal use as parkland. The Red Bull Air Race moved its UK event to London for subsequent years.

The site has fully reverted to being open parkland and fields within the Longleat Estate. There are no permanent structures, markings, or any visible remnants of the temporary runway or aviation facilities. The area is now used by Longleat for hosting other large-scale, non-aviation events, such as outdoor concerts, car shows, and the annual 'Festival of Light' lantern exhibition.

The 'Longleat Red Bull Airport' was a temporary grass airstrip and operational base created for the UK leg of the Red Bull Air Race World Series in 2005 and 2006. Its significance is entirely linked to hosting this major international sporting event, which attracted hundreds of thousands of spectators to the historic Longleat estate. Operations handled included the takeoff, landing, and temporary maintenance of the high-performance aerobatic aircraft used in the race (such as the Zivko Edge 540 and Extra 300), as well as helicopters for media coverage, VIP transport, and emergency services. The ICAO code GB-1145 was a non-standard, temporary designator assigned for the duration of the event for air traffic management purposes.

There are no plans or prospects to reopen a permanent airport at this location. The 'Longleat Red Bull Airport' was intrinsically tied to the Red Bull Air Race, a series which was permanently cancelled in 2019. While it is theoretically possible that the Longleat Estate could host another aviation-related event in the future that would require a temporary airstrip, there are no known or current plans for this to happen.