Right now, the museum is closed to comply with the latest Government guidelines. Meanwhile, behind the scenes we are making plans to reopen in the springtime.
The Yorkshire Air Museum is based within the grounds of the original wartime RAF Elvington. As such, our acres of open spaces, woodland walks and large aircraft hangar all enable us to welcome our visitors to enjoy fresh air and explore the museum in a safe and friendly environment.
You will, for sure, have questions and concerns about visiting many public spaces this summer, so here is our guide to visiting the Museum and the steps we are taking to ensure that you enjoy visiting us.
The wide open spaces of the museum means that we are able to accommodate our visitors while adhering to social distancing guidelines. Together with our E Ticketing system and new one way flow to explore the more confined areas of the museum, we are confident that we will not need to restrict visitor numbers. We recommend that you book your E Ticket online to guarantee your visit.
In order to guarantee your visit, it is best to pre-book online. Your E Ticket enables you to choose your date and makes entrance to the museum contactless and easy.
Click here to book your tickets >>>
When you arrive, parking is free. Simply park and go to the entrance.
As ever, we welcome a well behaved pooch. The only area you cannot take them is into the shop. So no need to leave them at home or even in the car on a hot day – your dog is very welcome to enjoy the museum too.
The latest government guidelines are for face masks to be worn in the enclosed areas of museums. Therefore, have your face mask to hand and please use it when inside of the buildings and main hangar. There is no need to wear your face mask when outdoors at the museum, however you are very welcome to if it helps you feel more secure.
You will find hand sanitising stations throughout the museum, feel free to use them. There are actually very few surfaces that you need to touch, principally around the toilet areas and the occasional doorway.
Our wide open spaces and huge aircraft hangar means that much of the museum can be open as normal. In some areas, notably inside the original period buildings, we have introduced one way systems to enable everyone to enjoy these areas comfortably.
Our new visitor map shows the interesting route we have devised to guide everyone around the museum. You can also download this before your visit here.
Additionally, we have introduced a one way flow to parts of our main aircraft hangar which we actually think helps to display our aircraft better.
Yes, we have toilet facilities as usual, with enhanced attention to cleaning. Disabled toilets are available inside the entrance of the NAAFI restaurant.
Bear in mind, there may be some queuing, so don’t leave it until you are desperate! Please be patient and considerate of others.
See our Halifax Friday the 13th as never before – with many aircraft outside for the summer, we’re taking the opportunity to display our amazing Halifax WW2 four engined bomber aircraft
Our shop is open as normal, with staff on hand to help with visitor numbers – you may be asked to wait a short while before entering the shop.
Not all areas of the museum will be open at first. Our NAAFI Restaurant will remain closed for now, so we are enhancing our seating areas to help everyone enjoy a picnic, plus we will still be serving drinks and snacks.
The inside of our original WW2 control tower will remain closed for now due to the tight corridors. Also, the RAF Regiment, 609 Squadron and 77 Squadron rooms will be closed.
However, we are taking this opportunity to refresh our Control Tower exhibition with new and exciting stories.
Our Nature of Flight walk area is in full bloom this summer. Enjoy a stroll through this nature reserve area which also gives you a view out across the huge runway of our neighbours here at Elvington, the location of many famous events and TV productions.
The Nature of Flight walk is spacious and many of our visitors enjoy some time to stroll through this area.
We’ve been hard at work in our beautiful Remembrance Garden and you can enjoy taking a moment to reflect on the history of RAF Elvington or perhaps remember those from your own family or friends who were involved in wartime. Other people enjoy taking a moment to reflect on the turbulent times we live in right now.
We hope you will enjoy spending a little time there too.
The ‘Good To Go’ badge is awarded to organisations by Visit England following the completion of an online assessment. To be awarded the Good To Go sign, we need to prove that we have in place procedures and precautions to ensure your social distancing safety. You can read more about this on the dedicated area of the Visit England website here
