CNE Air Show practice sparks flurry of complaints from Toronto residents

Unless you’re out of the city for the week or somehow have the most soundproof walls in all of Toronto, you’ve likely noticed that yesterday was the start of pilot practice for the Canadian International Air Show, which takes place on Labour Day weekend as part of the CNE.

For 3.5 hours each afternoon from Saturday, September 2 to Monday, September 4, professional pilots will take to the skies to perform a series of jaw-dropping stunts, risky maneuvers and stunning synchronized shows, flaunting some very rare and magnificent aircraft in the process.

But, as much as some love the show — which is now in its 74th year — its unignorable, disruptive noise has people upset before it even takes place.

It’s CNE Air Show practice day or, as people in Toronto know it, “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THA-oh, right. That’s today.”

— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) August 31, 2023

As is the case every year, residents are taking to socials to complain about how loud the jets overhead are, describing their sheer panic and confusion before they realized what the heck was going on.

Many are also concerned about how the end-of-summer tradition (and the reverberating sound of fighter jets that it entails) will impact people from war-torn countries, such as the 160,000+ Ukrainian refugees that Canada welcomed this past year.

every year i forget it’s a thing and freak out a little lmao because they’re SO loud

— akira nishikiyama stan account (@natalijanicole) August 31, 2023

Then there are the terror-stricken pets and bewildered wildlife to worry about, with many on X (formerly Twitter) citing shaking pups and cats running for cover.

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Environmental concerns abound, as well, especially given the amount of jet fuel that is being needlessly burned while much of the country is ablaze amid the most destructive wildfire season ever seen.

Oh joy, the air show practice has started meaning my dog will be shaking for 3 hours for the next 3 days

— shawna eh. (@electricHOMEGRL) August 31, 2023

Still, some are rightfully impressed by the awe-inspiring twists and turns of the pilots, as stomach-turning as they may be to witness…

Spotted the US Navy’s Blue Angels in the F/A-18 Super Hornet! Practice before the #LabourDay air show!

Pristine blue #Toronto sky pic.twitter.com/yCesjm45FX

— Samudra Gupta (@_samudragupta_) August 31, 2023

…while others are just sick of the complaining that comes with the practice and the show every year more than anything else.

After being on Twitter for 13 years, I must admit I’m a bit jaded by 10 tweet screeds against the air show. Thinking about the children, the air quality, the war-zone survivors, the seniors, the dogs, the islanders every year has beaten any sympathy for this issue out of me.

— Allison M. Godfrey (@dougalgodfrey) August 31, 2023

This year’s performance over the waterfront includes the US Navy Blue Angels and their F/A-18 Super Hornets (for the first time in 14 years), a USAF Heritage Flight with an F-16 demo and a P-51 Mustang, iconic 81-year-old air acrobat Gord Price, and, of course, the Canadian Forces Snowbirds, among others.