The milestone attendee was Alicia Peebles, 38, of Christchurch, who was met at the gate by outgoing Warbirds Over Wānaka general manager Ed Taylor.
She was presented with two titanium passes for the 2028 event, $250 worth of merchandise and a one-of-a-kind cap commemorating the landmark visit.
It's the first time Ms Peebles has been to Warbirds Over Wānaka, and was delighted on hearing the news she was the popular event's million attendee.
‘‘It’s really amazing.
‘‘We travelled down yesterday through awful traffic, but we’d already been talking about planning the trip for the next show."
‘‘It’s a truly international event and it’s staged in this little town in this beautiful place.
‘‘It just shows you the enormity of it."
Warbirds got off to a flying start, with more than 15,000 punters descending on the airport for day one of the biannual event.
The opening day is traditionally a ‘‘preview day’’ but the Friday programme was extended for this year, featuring three and a-half hours of airborne displays.
Displays took place against a backdrop of lightly overcast skies, with Mr Taylor saying he had ‘‘ordered a wee bit of cloud today because I know there were complaints last year about too much sun’’.
The buildup to this year’s event was overshadowed by conflict in the Middle East and what Mr Taylor described as the ‘‘gut-wrenching’’ withdrawal of modern military aircraft.
But with warm autumn temperatures and a full programme of vintage aviation, today’s attendees were undeterred.
ruairi.oshea@alliedmedia.co.nz
