Greek F-16 pilot performs demanding manoeuvres over Thessaloniki's 28 October parade

The flight over Thessaloniki

The military parade for the 28 October national anniversary took place on the coastal Megalou Alexandrou avenue in Thessaloniki, in the presence of President Konstantinos Tasoulas and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The F-16 of the Zeus aerobatic display team drew the crowd's attention, with Squadron Leader Christos-Paris Charitos flying a sequence of manoeuvres of increased difficulty over the city. The display was not his first at the parade, since he had flown a similar one at the 28 October parade in 2023. Shortly after the manoeuvres, he spoke from the cockpit.

The message from the cockpit

His words, translated from Greek, marked the anniversary of 28 October 1940.

“One word changes history. For Greeks, that word is NO. Today we honour those who stood upright. We remember that freedom is not given.”

He closed by wishing Greece a happy anniversary. The message came from the same flight that carried his display over the city's seafront.

The pilot's background

Charitos entered the Icarus School in 2006. In 2012 he was posted to the 115 Combat Wing, flying F-16 Block 52+ aircraft, and he now serves in the 340 Squadron. He has more than 1,900 flight hours in total, more than 1,500 of them on F-16s. The parade is the setting in which the Zeus team's F-16 display has become a regular feature, and his name is tied to that display.