Workers, contractors, suppliers and local businesses preparing for the inaugural Hampshire Air Festival have been left facing uncertainty after the event was cancelled just five days before it was due to begin, with the company behind it now taking steps to enter liquidation.
The Hampshire Air Festival was scheduled to take place at Thruxton Aerodrome near Andover on Saturday 12 and Sunday 13 September 2026.
However, organiser Montserrat Events & Festivals Limited has confirmed the cancellation, saying the decision had been taken with “profound sadness” and that the directors were now taking independent legal and insolvency advice as steps are taken to put the business into liquidation.
For visitors, the immediate consequence is a cancelled weekend and questions over recovering the cost of tickets. For the people who expected to earn money from the festival, however, the implications could be considerably more serious.
Behind an event of this scale sits a workforce that can include security staff, caterers, cleaners, hospitality teams, traffic-management workers, technicians, drivers, temporary event workers, specialist aviation contractors, traders and numerous other suppliers.
The Workers Union believes their position deserves particular attention as the consequences of the cancellation become clearer.
Cancellation comes just days before opening
Thruxton has confirmed that it was informed on Monday 7 September that the Hampshire Air Festival had been cancelled by Montserrat Events.
The aerodrome has also made clear that the festival was not a Thruxton-organised event. Instead, Montserrat Events had hired the airfield as the venue.
Thruxton said it was disappointed that the decision had been taken only five days before the festival was due to take place.
That short notice is particularly significant for workers and suppliers.
Many people involved in major events will have organised their working week around confirmed shifts or contracts. Businesses may have allocated employees, equipment and vehicles, while traders and caterers could have purchased stock in preparation for thousands of visitors.
Some people may also have declined alternative work because they expected to be working at Thruxton.
The precise number of workers, contractors and suppliers financially affected has not been publicly confirmed. It is therefore important not to speculate about job losses or the amount of money potentially owed.
What is clear is that the planned festival involved considerably more than aircraft displays.
Months of work behind the festival
Visitors had been promised a major programme covering more than a century of aviation, including formation aerobatics, modern aircraft and historic displays.
The Spitfire was expected to feature during its 90th anniversary year, while the wider programme included family entertainment, food and drink, camping, living-history exhibits, re-enactment camps and military vehicles.
Published ticket information showed that the showground was expected to operate from 10am until 9.30pm on Saturday and until 6.30pm on Sunday, with car parks opening earlier. An official campsite was scheduled to operate from Friday 11 September through to Monday 14 September.
Every part of an operation of that size depends on people working behind the scenes.
The advanced stage of preparations is also demonstrated by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, which had published temporary restricted airspace arrangements for the Hampshire Air Festival covering 12 and 13 September.
For workers who had expected paid shifts this weekend, attention may now turn to whether those hours will still be paid. Contractors and suppliers may meanwhile need to establish whether invoices, deposits or other costs will become claims within the insolvency process.
What happens if workers are owed money?
There is an important distinction between employees and contractors when a business becomes formally insolvent.
Government guidance explains that eligible employees of an insolvent employer may be able to claim certain outstanding employment payments through the Insolvency Service.
Depending on individual circumstances, these can include statutory redundancy pay, unpaid wages, holiday pay and statutory notice pay, subject to eligibility requirements and statutory limits. For redundancies occurring from 6 April 2026, relevant weekly payments are currently capped at £751.
The Government’s claim service for redundancy and other money owed by an insolvent employer also makes an important distinction for contractors: people who are not eligible as employees may instead need to register as creditors.
Workers affected by any company failure should therefore avoid assuming that everyone involved will have identical rights.
Employment status, length of service, contractual arrangements and precisely what money is outstanding can all matter.
The Workers Union provides information for workers dealing with redundancy and redundancy rights and has previously examined the wider consequences of redundancies and job losses for UK workers.
Local workers could feel the indirect impact
There is another group whose position should not be overlooked: people who were never directly contracted by the festival at all.
Large events can generate valuable secondary spending across their host communities.
Hotels and accommodation providers can receive bookings. Restaurants and pubs can experience increased footfall. Taxi and private-hire drivers can see additional demand. Shops, petrol stations and other local businesses can also benefit from visitors arriving in the area.
Where employers had increased staffing levels or adjusted rotas in anticipation of the festival, its cancellation could therefore have consequences beyond Montserrat Events and its immediate suppliers.
The Workers Union has previously reported on the growing significance of temporary employment and flexible recruitment within the UK jobs market.
Temporary and event-based work can provide important employment opportunities, but sudden changes can also expose workers to lost hours and income at very short notice.
Organisers had previously sought additional support
Questions will inevitably be asked about how a festival that had progressed so far towards opening reached the point of cancellation.
Earlier this year, event organiser Jonathan Moore appealed for greater public backing for the new airshow, including a founding membership scheme through which businesses and individuals could contribute £300 plus VAT.
At that stage, approximately 10 per cent of tickets were reported to have been sold, with the early response described as an encouraging indication of demand for a new accessible airshow in southern England.
The cancellation now means the inaugural Hampshire Air Festival will not reach opening day.
Montserrat Events has advised ticket holders to contact their debit or credit card provider regarding their purchases and possible recovery options. It says suppliers and other stakeholders will be contacted with further information about the liquidation process and relevant claims.
Workers should keep records
Anyone whose work or income is directly affected should retain relevant documentation.
That could include employment contracts, emails confirming shifts, rotas, text messages, invoices, purchase orders, payslips and correspondence confirming agreed work.
Employees should seek clear information about their employment position and any outstanding pay. Contractors and suppliers should monitor information concerning the formal insolvency process and how creditor claims will be handled.
Official GOV.UK guidance on workers’ rights when an employer becomes insolvent provides further information about potential payments and eligibility.
The people behind major events must not be forgotten
The cancellation of the Hampshire Air Festival will understandably be disappointing for aviation enthusiasts and families who had planned to attend.
But there is a bigger employment story behind the cancelled displays.
Major events exist because people build them, secure them, clean them, cater for them, transport equipment to them, provide technical services and look after the thousands of visitors expected through the gates.
When an event disappears only days before opening, those people can find themselves at the sharp end of the consequences.
The full employment and financial impact of the Hampshire Air Festival cancellation is not yet known. The Workers Union will continue to place the workers directly and indirectly affected at the centre of the story as the liquidation process develops.
The aircraft will not take to the skies over Thruxton this weekend, but for the people who expected to be working beneath them, clarity about their jobs, wages and outstanding payments will now be far more important.
Useful publication links: Official Hampshire Air Festival cancellation statement, Thruxton’s statement on the cancellation and The Workers Union report on temporary employment and the UK jobs market.
