Passengers must be in good health and be able to climb up into the gondola by themselves. Flights are not recommended for people who suffer from back pains, heart conditions, who are less than 4 feet 6 inches tall or pregnant women.

Passengers under the influence of drugs or alcohol will not be allowed to fly.

By accepting to fly in a Hot Air Balloon, the passenger holds the International Balloon Festival and the pilot harmless and accepts the inherent risks of such an activity. You will have to sign a non-liability sheet before your flight.

No. The booking system does not allow our passengers to choose the wanted Hot Air Balloon and neither pilot’s language.

Mornings: You must follow the VIP entrance signs that will get you on “Chemin du Grand-Bernier” and follow the instructions to the Parking for the morning passengers. You have to present yourself at the Laurentian Bank Passenger Zone at 5 a.m.

Evenings: You must follow the Public entrance signs as a normal visitor, pay your entry and parking fees or give your tickets if you have reserved before August 1^st. After that, present yourself at the Laurentian Bank Passenger Zone at 4 p.m.

Morning and evening: You must show your flight certificate at the Laurentian Bank Passenger Zone. The person in charge will give you your boarding pass to present to your pilot.

It’s really important to wear shoes in which you’ll be comfortable (sandals and high-heel shoes are to proscribe) and clothes in which you’ll be comfortable too and that suits with the outdoor temperature.

A flight lasts approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour depending of the weather at the real takeoff time. As a passenger, you should plan up to 3 or 4 hours of your time for the duration of the whole activity (meeting your pilot, preparing the equipment for the inflation, take-off, flight, landing, store away the equipment, traditional ceremony and back to the starting point.)

If your morning flight is cancelled due to bad weather, you can book another flight during the 2011 event, or get a refund. Otherwise, you will lose your flight and won’t be refund for it. However, for those who will not be on the site at the time of arrival, no credit and refund will be given. If your flight is cancelled in the evening, an entrance ticket will be given to passengers leaving the site before the beginning of the evening show at 8 p.m.

It’s impossible to plan where we are going to land exactly. The strength and the winds direction show us the area where we are going without further. Usually, we land on a ground where we can obtain the owner’s authorization, for example, in a field nearby a road to make the balloon recovery easier.

During the flight, the pilot is constantly in radiocommunication with his team on the ground also called chase crew. The chase crew follow him everywhere and when the balloon lands, the team is on the spot to help the pilot to pack up the balloon envelope and put all the equipment back in the trailer. Then, everybody get in the truck to go back to the starting point.

Of course! And we highly recommend you to bring it to immortalize these magic moments.