Air show over Abu Dhabi corniche

Taking advantage of the stop of rain, residents of Abu Dhabi flocked to the Corniche to watch the show and enjoy the sunny spell after a day-long rain fall, a day ahead of the culmination of national day celebrations on Sunday.

Crowds from various nationalities were caught off guard as seven jets streaked overhead and unleashed steam in four colours black, white, red and green the colours of the UAE national flag.

The planes thundered above the sea in a breath-taking show involving flying low past the city’s facade before shooting upwards in a well-organized row.

Adorned with the UAE flag, the seven aircrafts spent nearly half an hour roaring over the six-km cornice road as hundreds of people pulled their mobile phones and cameras to take shots of the amazing performance.

The crowd clapped as the jets flew up and down then circled around each other to paint a heart in the middle of the sky. One jet then roared inside the heart and unleashed a red-coloured steam that cut across the shape to give the impression that “it was the day of love for the UAE on its 41^st birthday”.

The performance started around 4.00 pm and lasted for nearly 30 minutes ahead of the peak celebrations on Sunday, when thousands of people and cars are expected to march on the Corniche to mark the occasion.