Nearly a dozen British Army fighter jets flew over Montreal late Wednesday afternoon, firing smoke in the Union Jack colours as they passed to mark the centenary of the Royal Canadian Air Force.
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The Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force's aerobatic display team, visited Old Montreal on Wednesday as part of a Canadian tour aimed at celebrating the anniversary and “highlighting the strong and enduring ties that unite the UK and Canada,” the team said on Instagram.
As they crossed the city, the nine Hawk T1As released blue, red and white smoke representing the colours of the British flag.
Montreal was the seventh of eight Canadian cities visited by the British pilots. They were captured last week in London, Ontario.
On social media, many questioned the uproar caused by their passing.
“I thought it was the start of World War III,” one Reddit user wrote.
Another person said: “They flew over my neighborhood, I thought we were under attack.”
The Italian Army's aerobatic patrol, the Frecce Tricolori (Three-Colour Arrows), also flew over Montreal last June, to celebrate the centenary of the Canadian Armed Forces' air branch.
