It has also been confirmed an extremely rare aircraft will fly for the first time in more than 60 years at the show.
The event, usually held every two years, last took place in 2018, attracting about 55,000 visitors over three days and pumping $42 million into the regional economy.
In March 2020, the airshow was one of the first major events in New Zealand cancelled because of Covid 19. Two years later it had the same fate.
"They say timing is everything and it was just our bad luck to get caught at the very start and the very end of the pandemic restrictions," Warbirds Over Wānaka general manager Ed Taylor said.
"By the time Easter 2024 rolls around, our organisation will have had to survive six years with no ticket revenue. We have only managed to stay in business through the generosity of our amazing funders, sponsors and individual supporters."
He said there was definitely an appetite for airshows following the Covid disruptions. A recent New Zealand Warbirds Association airshow at Ardmore Airport near Auckland recorded a 20% increase in the number of visitors compared with its previous event.
"If our tour group and other booking inquiries are anything to go by, we are going to have a bumper crowd come next Easter."
The first significant aircraft to be confirmed for the show is the last surviving Royal New Zealand Air Force P-51D Mustang in the country.
The aircraft, which has not flown since 1957, has been under restoration by Brendon Deere at Ohakea for more than two years and is on target to make its airshow debut at Wānaka next Easter.
Other major new aerial acts from both New Zealand and overseas will be announced over the coming months as they are confirmed.
On the ground, a significant new attraction is also planned.
The Future of Aviation Exhibition will feature the likes of New Zealand’s first electric aircraft and an autonomous electric air taxi along with companies exploring the use of solar, hydrogen and other propulsion technologies.
"There is so much going on in the aviation industry aimed at tackling the effects of climate change and we’ve had a huge response from companies wanting to show our visitors first hand what’s happening," Mr Taylor said.
Tickets go on sale at 9am today.
