JEDDAH: The British Royal Air Force (RAF) aerobatic team, the “Red Arrows” performed stunts flying over the Jeddah corniche on Monday, as a way of promoting the UK in Saudi Arabia and the region.
The show, which is part of an international tour, left the sky striped with red, blue and white smoke streams, the colors of the British flag.
“I hope the people of Jeddah will fall in love with the Red Arrows when they see the red, blue and white smoke in the air,” Cate Driscoll, the Red Arrows team manager, who is in charge of planning the tour, said ahead of the display that took place just before sunset.
The display was “to showcase British excellence,” as Squadron Leader David Montenegro, Red 1, who leads the team in the air, said when speaking to Arab News at the British Consulate.
The idea behind the international tour, supported by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, is to promote UK industry in the Middle East and to promote Britain as part of the UK government’s GREAT campaign to promote business, education and life in the UK.
“Our aim is to demonstrate the best of Britain,” said Simon Taylor, Red 7 on the team. “This is a great opportunity for us (as) we get to display in all sorts of great sites. None of us has been to Jeddah before, so it’s a great experience for us,” Taylor told Arab News.
Coming from Jordan to Saudi Arabia, the Red Arrows set off from England’s RAF Scampton in mid-September, after finishing their domestic season in the UK, flying through France, Greece, and then Jordan before landing in Tabuk, in the north, then Jeddah.
Tabuk, as an airfield, has a strong connection to the Red Arrows, as this is where the Royal Saudi Air Force aerobatic team, the Saudi Hawks, fly. The arrival of the aerobatic team in Saudi Arabia coincided with the celebration of Saudi National Day.
“The display is our way of celebrating with Saudi Arabia, a country that we have strong links with,” said Andrew Morton, Red Arrow’s Public Relation’s Manager.
“As a team, we don’t just perform in the air, but we also provide engineering excellence on the ground; it’s a real showcase for UK industry, creativity and innovation,” he told Arab News.
During their stay in Jeddah, the team met with alumni of UK universities and visited British schools in Jeddah to promote the subjects of science, technology, engineering and math to students.
By meeting young people, the Red Arrows tries to engage them in something that is different from modern technology and its social networking tools, said Montenegro.
“This is a very tangible demonstration of what teamwork is. And if they are interested in anything to do with aviation … then the message we bring on the ground is ‘well, you can achieve anything yourself whether you want to become a pilot, an engineer, an air traffic controller, or (aerospace) researcher,” he said, adding that “Aviation is a global language,” and the message the team conveys is that it is open to anyone from any background without needing prerequisite skills or educational background.
“I think this is the best thing about what we do. That’s the most fulfilling part of our job,” he added.
Following their visit to Jeddah, the Red Arrows continue their tour flying to Oman, Bahrain, before they head to Riyadh on a fly past in October to seal their tour for this season.
