Atlantic City Airshow canceled again for 2025

The Atlantic City Airshow, a premiere summer event that was canceled in 2024, will not take place next summer either, tourism officials said.

In a statement, the Greater Atlantic City Chamber said the air show will “take a strategic pause for 2025.”

“We will use this time to reevaluate the overall operations of the show — reevaluating community engagement, assessing costs, reviewing logistics and creatively considering what future Atlantic City Airshows could look like,” the statement said.

The chamber, which puts on the show in conjunction with the South Jersey Transportation Authority, said it hopes it will be in a position to hold the Airshow in 2026.

Last summer, a month before the event, the chamber canceled the air show explaining that a major act had pulled out.

Mayor Marty Small Sr. said in an interview that it was not the city’s decision.

“I want to be clear: this is the chamber’s decision,” he said. “We wholeheartedly respect that decision. Though we’re disappointed, we’re going to be partners with the chamber to make sure the air show comes back. Through no fault of our own, this is where we are.”

He said last summer’s cancellation followed an incident in Fort Lauderdale during an air show there, in which two planes clipped wings. “We didn’t want to put on a haphazard air show,” he said.

The air show has been a tremendous summer draw for Atlantic City and neighboring beach towns, with hundreds of thousands of people filling beaches to watch, and throwing parties along the Boardwalk. It has been held since 2003 and is known as Thunder over the Boardwalk. The show had previously been in doubt in 2024 because of funding issues that were resolved too late.

More than $70 million in economic activity is generated from the two-day event, the Press of Atlantic City has reported, adding that Casino Reinvestment Development Authority officials have said the air show brings in $1.9 million in state and local taxes and $900,000 in luxury taxes.

Its absence was cited as a drain on their summer by local businesses, including the Good Dog Bar which shut its doors before the summer was even over.

The chamber said its goal is “to ensure the long-term viability of the Airshow,” and to make the air show “the world’s premiere beachfront Airshow.”

“It is New Jersey’s largest free event, a 20-year tradition, that has brought joy to hundreds of thousands of visitors and residents alike,” it said. “We recognize the Airshow’s significant role in our community and to the tourism economy, and we are steadfast in our dedication to preserving its legacy, while adapting to current economic realities.”