AirVenture

Wildfire Smoke Delays Oshkosh Arrivals

Haze reduced visibility at Wittman Regional Airport days before AirVenture.

Matt Ryan

Friday, July 17, 2026 at 03:13 PM ET

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Edited By: Zach Vasile

[Credit: Wittman Regional Airport via Facebook]

Key Takeaways:

Wildfire smoke reduced visibility at Wittman Regional Airport, limiting operations to instruments and causing some pilots to delay arrivals ahead of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.
Pilots are advised to plan their flights to AirVenture based on their individual minimums and comfort levels given the smoke conditions.
EAA is monitoring potential attendance impacts and recommends visitors make personal health decisions regarding the persistent haze.

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Wildfire smoke reduced visibility at Wittman Regional Airport on Thursday, limiting the airport to instrument operations and prompting some pilots to delay their arrivals ahead of EAA AirVenture Oshkosh.

“Pilots will do their flight planning on to what their minimums are, what they feel comfortable with, and then plan accordingly before making their flight here to AirVenture,” EAA communications director Dick Knapinski told WBAY.

EAA said it was monitoring whether the smoke would affect attendance and advised visitors to make their own health decisions if the haze continues. AirVenture is scheduled for July 20-26.

Matt Ryan

Matt is AVweb's lead editor. His eyes have been turned to the sky for as long as he can remember. Now a fixed-wing pilot, instructor and aviation writer, Matt also leads and teaches a high school aviation program in the Dallas area. Beyond his lifelong obsession with aviation, Matt loves to travel and has lived in Greece, Czechia and Germany for studies and for work.

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