THROCKMORTON Airshow may not get off the ground this year after a shock increase in charges was proposed by the Civil Aviation Authority.

The show, in its 9th year, is due to take to the skies on June 11, but organisers have been knocked back by the hike which will see them needing to find £10,000.

Organisers suspect the increase has been triggered by last August's air disaster in Shoreham, West Sussex, when former RAF pilot Andy Hill crashed a vintage jet. He survived but 11 people died.

Samantha Jones, a full time paramedic and one of the organisers of Throckmorton Airshow said it is the largest military and emergency services show in the UK but there was a fear it may now not go ahead.

She said: "Four weeks ago the Civil Aviation Authority proposed astronomical price increases of up to 100 per cent completely out of the blue and unjustified. Does anyone have a spare £10,000? That is what it will take for the Throckmorton Airshow to go ahead if these fees are implemented.

“If the CAA wants to increase fees then fine, but don’t give us four weeks’ notice with only three months to go 'til our airshow. "They could implement these costs for 2017 and allow airshows like us to budget, not just drop these costs out of the blue and expect airshows to pay it. That is a lot of money taken away from our charities and just looks like a Shoreham tax.

"Airshows are safe; there has not been a public fatality in the aviation industry since 1952. This airshow brings a lot of revenue and tourism to Worcestershire, please don't take it from us."

This year's charity partners are the Midlands Air Ambulance and the RAF Benevolent Fund.

Details from the CAA's website read: "To accommodate the timetable for the 2016 air display season, these proposals are planned to be effective as from 1 April 2016.

"The proposals consider cost recovery of the planned increase in resources, following the actions required from the Air Display Review and potential recommendations from the Air Accident Investigation Branch’s report, and partial mitigation of existing under-recovery of costs.

"Consequently, the air display charges are proposed to increase significantly for the larger events on a sliding scale pending a full review of the changing regulatory requirements and effect on charges in time for industry consultation for the 2017-18 scheme."

A month-long consultation ended on February 29 and the CAA will review its scheme in light of the responses. The law requires the CAA to consult first with those affected and then the Secretary of State before introducing the scheme. The Secretary of State will then make his decision.

In the meantime, airshow organisers have started a petition to the UK government and parliament asking the CAA to rethink the charges for the 2016 airshow season. Petitioners state the proposals are nothing more than an inexplicable hike in airshow display charges.

So far 14,233 signatures have been gathered. When that figure gets to 100,000 the petition will be considered for debate in parliament.