Blue Angels headed back to La Crosse

If you check the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels’ schedule, you’ll notice La Crosse is on the list.

The La Crosse Regional Airport posted it’s “beyond excited” to see the flying team headed back for the Deke Slayton Airfest in the summer of 2024 (June 15-16).

Airfest media director Dave Larsen will be on La Crosse Talk in the second half of the 7 a.m. hour Wednesday to talk about the announcement. Tune in on the WIZM App or at 92.3 FM / 1410 AM and 106.7 FM (north of Onalaska).

The Blue Angels were last in La Crosse in June of 2021. Before that, Airfest hadn’t been held in La Crosse since 2014.

The gap between 2021 and 2024 isn’t a surprise. Airfest coordinator Bruce Mathews predicted this back in March.

“We put in our application for 2022 and ‘23, and we already know we don’t have a team for those years,” Mathews said told WIZM. “So, (2024) would be our next option.”

Airfest only happens if the group can bring in a flying team like the Blue Angels or the Thunderbirds.

The seven-year gap between Airfests between 2014-2021 happened because of scheduling conflicts with those flying teams, as well as Interstate 90 construction that would have made traffic a mess and the pandemic.

You can check out the full Blue Angels schedule here.