The Blue Angels Come Home Friday and Saturday: Gates at 8, the Team at 2, REAL ID Required - and Admission Is Free
It is the first Homecoming Air Show since 2024, after last year's shutdown cancellation. Everything a Pensacola family needs for November 6 and 7 at NAS Pensacola - gates, timing, the sold-out chalets, the $50 box seats, and the ID rule that turns people away.
The Blue Angels are coming home this week. The 2026 Blue Angels Homecoming Air Show runs Friday, November 6 and Saturday, November 7 aboard Naval Air Station Pensacola - the first homecoming show since 2024, after the 2025 show was cancelled when a federal government shutdown restricted access to the base, and the team's final show of the season before winter training. This year's theme is '200 Years Forged Here.' The Main Gate, at the south end of Navy Boulevard, and the West Gate, at the south end of Blue Angel Parkway, open at 8 a.m. both days; flying starts at 9:30 a.m.; and the Blue Angels themselves are scheduled to fly around 2 p.m., performing for roughly 45 minutes. Arrive before the gates open and you can be turned away - 8 a.m. is the plan, not a suggestion.
The lineup ahead of the headliner, per the official air show information, mixes civilian aerobatics - the Stearman Flight Team, Redline Airshows, Ghostwriter and Mike Goulian among them - with military demonstrations including the SOCOM Para-Commandos, an F-35C Lightning II and a US Air Force F-16 Viper. One regular will be missing: Fat Albert, the team's support aircraft, is grounded for maintenance until 2027. Admission and general parking are both free; security personnel direct motorists to the nearest available parking, with shuttles from overflow lots as the flight line fills. Box seating - a reserved seat on the show line - is $50 through the air show's website; the Flightline Chalet tickets are sold out for both days.
The rule that decides who gets in is paperwork, not price: everyone 18 and older must present a valid REAL ID to access NAS Pensacola for the show. A passport works in place of one, passports are mandatory for foreign nationals, and non-US citizens may face additional screening. Bring hearing protection - the Super Hornets can exceed 100 decibels - plus hats, sunscreen, and folding chairs or a blanket for the shadeless general admission area; umbrellas are discouraged. Leave the rest at home: coolers, drones, pets, outside food and drinks, pop-up tents and most bags beyond small purses, diaper bags and small camera bags are prohibited, and there are no stroller or wheelchair rentals on site. The station's current forecast for Friday is the best of the week - clear at 78.5 degrees (SQ-20261101-063).
