Airport Festival Piestany 2025
Piestany, 14-15 June 2025
The airfield at Piestany was the location on the Slovak International Air Fest (SIAF) until the early 2010s. In 2019, it became the location for the first edition of the Festival Letecta (Airport festival) there. And now, in 2025, following the demise of the Slovak International Air Fest, the Festival Letectva at Piestany has become the largest airshow in Slovakia. Time for a return visit!
It is fair to say the airshow moved on from the first iteration in 2019. After a pause due to the covid pandemic, the show returned in 2022 and 2023 with a different format. This included and aviation fair and the first sunset / night show in Slovakia. The aviation fair appears to have fallen by the way side but the sunset airshow was still very much in evidence, forming the centrepiece of the Saturday action. On Sunday, the show was geared towards families with children, with several children entertainment acts performing on the main stage during the flying demonstrations. In addition, there were also a large playground and other fun activities for young visitors.
The soundscape was certainly a little different. Not only were there several children’s acts on Sunday, on Saturday it seemed like a world record attempt playing Thunderstruck over the PA. At least the Top Gun soundtrack didn’t feature in the playlist.
Fun is not what one could call the catering area. Yes, it offered plenty of sheltered seating which was very welcome in the oppressive heat the summer sun provided. The food offering was also extremely varied and reasonably priced. Drinks however were very hard to get, not the most welcome problem with the high temperatures.
The static display contained a lot of the flying display participants and a few Ukrainian civilian transport aircraft. In the air, only the Slovak air force provided military assets, despite this show being organized by the same agency as SIAF, who recently –or not so recently if you are not optimistically inclined- lost their flagship show. One wonders if someone will pick up the mantle of organizing a military focused airshow.
There was quite a bit of variation on offer still, ranging from warbirds and classic jets to paragliders and aerobatics. It was particularly nice to see a flying display by an AN-26 and AN-32P, something that hasn’t happened in Western or Central Europe in a fair few years. The show ran, with an extended break, from 14:00 until 22:00 on Saturday and from 10:00 until 14:30 on Sunday. Sunday already saw a few acts missing from the display list compared to the first day, but also didn’t have any duplication in the programme, which was also very welcome under the circumstances.
Despite not being able to visit the military history museum anymore due to a lengthy closure, the show still provided a varied and interesting line-up. While perhaps not for everyone to travel to from abroad, the event is definitely and interesting one with some rare participation.
