The Russian Knights formation aerobatics team will not take part in the Farnborough International Air Show due to a lack of permits for taking military equipment out of the country, the organizers of the airshow said.
“Unfortunately the two Russian Knights' Su-27s scheduled to appear at the Farnborough International Airshow 2012 will now not be taking part due to delays which have prevented them from completing the show's stringent aircraft validation process,” the organizers told RIA Novosti.
Two Russian Su-27 fighters were due to depart for Great Britain on Saturday, but their flight, scheduled for 2 pm Moscow time (10:00 GMT), had been cancelled, a military source said.
The Russian Knights failed to obtain permission to travel to the Farnborough show, which runs July 9-15, from the Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, a source close to the group told RIA Novosti on Thursday.
“As one of the world's premier international air shows with over 15 hours of flying displays, over 70 aircraft in attendance from all over the world and changeable weather conditions, it is inevitable that the aircraft line up at Farnborough International Airshow is subject to change,” the airshow’s organizers said, adding that they had the aircraft to replace missing Russian fighters.
Russian officials have yet to comment on the issue.
The country’s Foreign Ministry lambasted British officials on Thursday for failing to issue visas to some Russian participants of the show.
The ministry did not specify what caused the delays, but several Russian newspapers, including Vedomosti and Nezavisimaya Gazeta, citing unidentified Russian officials, blamed Russia’s continuing support of the Syrian government, which is struggling to suppress a grassroots insurgency while under heavy diplomatic pressure from the West.
Russian participants of Farnborough have visa problems because some of them did not apply in time, said press secretary of the British Embassy in Moscow, David Shaw, Vedomosti reported on Thursday.
Russian companies are only bringing 114 items to the show this year, compared to 250 in 2010, Vedomosti business daily said.
