F-35C fighter jets fly in formation. The 2026 NAS Lemoore Air Show has been canceled due to heightened military security requirements. (Photo: NAS Lemoore/Facebook)

The cancellation of the 2026 Naval Air Station Lemoore Air Show — citing heightened security measures tied to ongoing U.S. and Israeli military operations in Iran — has dealt a sudden blow to the Central Valley’s tourism economy, with the City of Lemoore announcing Wednesday that its companion FlightFest & Navy Appreciation Days event is also off.

In a news release dated March 4, City Manager Marissa Trejo confirmed that Lemoore’s downtown FlightFest, scheduled for March 20–22, would not proceed after the city learned on the evening of March 3 that LNAS had pulled the plug on its air show. Because FlightFest was designed specifically to run alongside the air show and celebrate the U.S. Navy’s presence in the region, officials concluded there was no point in moving forward independently.

Past NAS Lemoore air shows have drawn between 80,000 and 100,000 visitors each of the two days the event runs — numbers that translate into filled hotel rooms, busy restaurants and brisk retail traffic across Lemoore, Hanford and the broader Kings County area. Applying even a conservative per-visitor spending estimate, the lost economic activity could easily reach into the hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single weekend.

The city’s statement acknowledged the financial fallout for the private sector, noting that event staff would be reaching out to confirmed sponsors and vendors about refunds, credits or future collaboration opportunities.

Both NAS Lemoore and the City of Lemoore say they hope to reschedule — the air show when security conditions allow, and FlightFest to coincide with whatever date is eventually set. Until then, one of the Central Valley’s biggest annual tourism weekends remains grounded.