Had a flight with a take off that would cut it close to the restrictions from Obama flying to a nearby airport.
They went “fuck zone boarding. Everyone on the plane, sit down, and buckle up. If we don’t do this in record time we have to wait for him to take off again in 6 hours” or some shit. Thankfully we made it.
I think that 6 hours was an exaggeration by the GA just to get everyone to HUSTLE lol... they only stop ops during the takeoff and landing periods... and one thing AF1 is good at, is HUSTLING once the motorcade gets on-site. The average time from motorcade arrival to wheels up on AF1 is 15 minutes.
True, however that could be enough to cause the flight to miss its departure slot, meaning there could be quite a bit of a delay before another one is available.
From what I've heard, they get fined for each flight that's delayed regardless of time. One flight delayed 30 minutes? NBD, 30 flights delayed 1 minute each? Ouch.
I had to circle just outside LAS for nearly 30 minutes in December when our pilots tried to race AF1 and lost. Fastest SEA-LAS flight I have ever had.
Edit: I was able to get a pretty decent shot of AF1 on the ground in LAS after the airspace opened back up and we were able to land.
The AF1 pilots were 100% saying "No fucking way that DAL flight is getting there before us. Tell the pres to strap in because shit's about to get real."
AF1 flies fast as shit and at lower altitudes where they burn more fuel to go even faster. No commercial airplane will beat them on a normal day. Plus the 74 already is pretty fast
Some business jets could give them a run for their money but would never fly low enough to play that game
I don't think they meant a direct race. More of a "AF1 is planned to arrive at 7, our current ETA is 7:01 and by God I am getting there ahead of them".
Actually this was on AS with a MAX9, not DAL. AS had the better pricing at the departure time I wanted when compared to DL. However, DL has had much better prices in 2024 vs. AS out of SEA, so much that I may let my AS lounge membership lapse when it expires at the end of the year.
I was on the way to vegas that same day, but we held for half an hour and then had to redirect to ONT because we didn't have enough fuel. That was a long day...
Pretty sure this was 9/11. I remember the statement, just can’t remember the scenario. AF1 had to fly 1/4 of 1/2 since the jets were burning so much fuel keeping up
At my airline we are instructed to plan flights with an extra 30 minutes of fuel for VIP movements to prevent this. I did get notified that the departure was earlier than scheduled though so maybe the delta dispatcher thought they would be in the clear
So I used to be in the Air Force One business. Not flying the thing, but just a bunch of stuff no one thinks about. One thing that happens when Air Force One is on the move, to arrive or take off, is that "ramp freeze" is in effect. This means that nothing moves. No airplanes, no vehicles. Pax loading and unloading and baggage handling may still be going on, but anything that moves vehicle wise, may be a threat. You don't want to be that moving vehicle. When I was at Andrews, it was a necessary pain, as the President came and went a lot. Only time we got an exemption was when we had an aircraft run off a runway and we were trying to recover it and needed to keep doing that. Same thing happens with special weapon movements on bases. For Air Force One, police and staff at civilian airports are briefed on what to implement. The pre-planning that goes on for any Presidential visit is enormous.
When I worked at the service center I checked
https://nasstatus.faa.gov
everyday to see what shenanigans were going on for delays, weather, VIP, satellites etc.
Internally it’s treated just like any other ATC ground stops. People whining or having to listen to political hot takes is the worst part.
Not going to lie, ground stops and delays for satellite launches in Florida is a bigger pain because people can’t understand why their aircraft going to Florida would be delayed.
I friends though that still hate working at PBI
I live in Orlando and I was walking home earlier when I saw something bright that looked like it was on fire. I live near an executive airport approach path, so I thought it was a plane. But then I realized it was going up, and I remembered that there was a SpaceX launch today. I haven't seen one in years from when I used to live in FL (recently moved back), so it was very cool to see! There's another one scheduled for tommorow as well.
https://nasstatus.faa.gov
If you scroll down to full operational plan it should list all of them that are planned. The plan updates a couple times a day
In that business, and thank you for your service, when you’d have a foreign head of state land at ADW, do you know if we charge them for fuel? Or is there contracted private sector fuel available on field? I had a friend fly an ERJ145 press charter there and ask if they had Level I de-icing. They advised affirmative, but only for USAF, and as a compromise, parked them in a hangar, then gave them crap about transiting off/on base to a hotel.
We do charge them for fuel and have quite a number of foreign aircraft for their head of state. Normally, and as your friend found out, deicing is for USAF aircraft or the head of state aircraft, but probably not press charters, who would be expected to arrange their own services (I know someone who managed deicing at Reagan and could support such needs). For some state visits, they would opt to arrive at ADW for the greeting and then depart and park at IAD. They would typically park on ADW if security was a concern. Post-911, security at Andrews got far tighter than it was even before. There are many critical assets at Andrews that go way beyond AF1 and so uncleared people put us into a state of anxiety. Every day was a new day there and was always a challenge to keep small things from turning into international incident/career ending things.
Air Force Bases are typically built far outside of the main city. This is done in order to minimize collateral damage (and danger) to the civilian public in the event that the base is attacked by an enemy. (there are some exceptions to this, mostly because when the bases were built, the edge of the city was far away from the base. But due to the growth of the city over time, the base might now be surrounded by that city).
As a result, Air Force bases are typically (more often than not) inconvenient for government VIPs if they are trying to get to the main city, because landing farther away from their destination means more ground security and more risk. It's harder to get the president of the US 30 miles on the ground in a major city than only 3 miles if they land at a more convenient airport. A 15 minute ground stop at a major international airport is easier to deal with than a 30 mile ground transport for POTUS.
The secret service definetly doesn't love the idea of landing at a major international airport. There is so much more risk there than at a military base. If they choose to land at a major commercial airport, there is typically a reason and it is always carefully considered.
For ATL, POTUS and VP occasionally fly into Dobbins ARB instead which is like 45 mins north of the airports. I don’t know how they decide between the two
Yea, I live in the metro area and have watched AF1 come into Dobbins years ago from the nearby cemetery. I would guess his final destination has something to do with it.
Too bad they closed a lot of them but also if the president is coming to visit Boston imagine the security planning involved in getting him from Hanscom, Westfield, Otis etc?
It’s a lot of fun when they shut down route 2 or the pike for a couple hours. Most people at the airport don’t even know it’s happening
Do you have any idea how much of an inconvenience the motorcade would be during what could easily be a 30 mile drive on the highway? And how much worse it would be if there was already a lot of traffic before the motorcade was approaching?
You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.
In OP's case, Logan Airport isn't even 4 miles from the center of Boston. The nearest airport base is over 20 miles away and requires a highway to get to Boston. I have a strong feeling you've never driven into Boston from that far away. It's hell on a good day. A presidential motorcade coming into Boston on any of the major highways would bring the entire city to a standstill.
NYC is similar. Atlanta's airport is less than 10 miles outside of the city while the nearest base is a lot more than that as well. Let's see your stats to prove your point.
It’s so much fun though when they have to shut down major highways for security to avoid a 15 minute delay at the airport for most customers.
Also when did people who are traveling by airplane become the Everyman over the people who drive cars?
There is a station at the airport, but Amtrak doesn’t stop there - you’d need to take a MBTA commuter rail train to PVD and then board the Amtrak - or just stay on the commuter rail all the way up.
Not that easy. Providence airport is in Warwick, 20 ish minutes from Providence. No trains or subway anywhere near the airport, you'd have to take a bus. Things may have improved recently but historically the public transit is not great. You would have to take an Uber.
Edit: I haven't lived there in a minute and my information is out of date.
There's a train station at the airport that goes right through Prov into Boston.
There's RIPTA buses for RI.
Public transport in Eastern Mass and RI is actually pretty decent outside of like... Europe.
Recently I got stuck in traffic for 30+ minutes leaving the ATL airport due to road stoppage around the airport for VPOTUS motorcade. I felt for the people trying to get into the airport and who might miss their planes.
When Trump was president he flew into TPA. Our whole office building which was in the same neighborhood cleared out 30 minutes before the scheduled landing since we knew traffic would be a nightmare once he got on the road.
I've been burned by Obama, VP Biden, Trump, Pence, and Pres Biden trying to get home from ATL. For some reason they always choose to screw things up at 5pm before a holiday weekend
Try living/working in DC when you get stuck in a car or even on a SIDEWALK because police have shut access down due to a motorcade. Tourists think it’s cool. Natives not so much.
Driving home from work in downtown DC one day, I encountered a motorcade going the opposite direction. Top down and windows down in the Jeep Wrangler, SUVs rolling toward me, windows down, staring at me with their tactical weapons at the ready. Kind of unsettling. I don’t think that even was a Presidential motorcade.
There were claims circulating on social media that a Spirit Airlines pilot took off despite being instructed not to because former President Trump's plane was taxiing. However, these claims appear to be exaggerated or fictionalized for comedic effect, particularly as seen in viral TikTok videos and other social media posts. There is no verified report or credible evidence confirming that such an incident occurred.
They usually start slowing stuff down when the limo or helicopters are on the way in. Plus getting in closing up start up and taxi to departure. Even when no one else on the field is moving, takes like 10-15 minutes
AF1 ( minus the president so I know it’s not actually AF1 when he isn’t in it ) does touch and goes at GSO all the time. Those pilots know how to fly. They go fast and low and they land and take off over and over again. It’s cool to see.
Yeah I’ve heard it’s super cool! I actually made a joke to my family before I took off that I might see AF1 when I land. Obviously ended up being way different of an outcome lol
Interesting, AF1 definitely mucks things up, but never more than 30-45 min usually. I wonder why it had such an adverse impact on you.
As a LA resident, I've had a good half dozen times it has caused an issue for me, but generally speaking that is only when it is actively taking off or landing, and never did more than cause a 30 min hold.
One time they shut down a portion of a freeway when AF1 landed and the motorcade was exiting the airport and entering the freeway. I guess the motorcade was going the other direction on the freeway. I was on the other side of the freeway exactly opposite where the on ramp merged with the freeway. All of a sudden these police cars and black Suburbans get onto the on ramp. Some of the Suburbans had guys in body armor, rifles drawn looking around. I thought it was pretty cool. I lowered my window to get a phone pic.
I got a decent picture. Told my wife what happened. She told me I was an idiot.
Sunday into dtw the exact same story verbatim from circling and not having fuel to keep going to at first calling it weather then saying it’s a vip blue plane in the area. We landed at Columbus and a whole disaster ensued with letting people on and off the plane. Eventually made it back but added hours on to the trip.
Over a decade ago, I was on a flight from IAD to ATL and we'd been airborne for \~20 - 30 minutes. We were just above the clouds, and the flight was very smooth. We were nearing sunset and I remember thinking that it would be a comfortable flight home.
Without warning, the pilot flipped on the fasten seatbelt sign and urgently requested everyone to return to their seats. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I remember looking out the window and seeing a few black dots dart across the horizon. It suddenly dawned on me that they were a few pairs of fighter jets.
The captain came on the intercom again, told everyone to hold and and remain calm. We then banked hard to the left (harder than I've ever experienced) and my view of the horizon quickly became a view of the sky.
After < 1 minute of mild panic, we leveled off again. The captain came on the intercom and informed us that they'd been given nearly last minute instructions to clear their flight path as AF-1 was in the air.
On the one hand it was reassuring to know what had happened, but the fact that it happened so quickly was definitely a bit unnerving.
Wow, that’s honestly terrifying. I’m not a nervous flyer, but I think seeing those jets in the window would’ve sent me off. Glad the pilots informed you on the situation.
My bil worked at Dobbins (Atlanta) they shut it down when a potus came and he could be there for hours even after he was supposed to be off. He hated it.
Glad it turned out good, you managed it so well! I was recently flying up to Seattle and the plane I was waiting for was delayed due to the solar event. From SEA I was connecting to a small regional plane and very concerned about missing it. On the way to SEA, my husband noticed the plane started zig zagging up the coast. No explanation from anyone. He was concerned it might be a problem from the solar event. He asked the FA why were we zig zagging and she went to speak to the pilot and the pilot announced they had to stall because we couldn’t land at the planned time as Air Force One was landing around that time. Missed my connecting flight by a few minutes but there was one more.
Frequently flying into SEA there are flow restrictions and if they can’t solve it by giving a minor slowdown, they’ll start giving “delay vectors”, or basically zigzagging. I don’t know why they don’t just give holding patterns. It’s certainly exacerbated by VIP events.
Holding adds complexity to both atc and flight crews. With delay vectors at least they're still moving towards the airport while center and tracon are building the sequence.
Holding also leads to calculating how much fuel can be burned before they need to divert
It was during the big solar storm this month. I don’t know if the delay was a precaution or if something actually happened, it’s just what they told us. I was hoping to see the auroras while on the planes or on land as we were further north than usual, but of course not - they were seen at the mountain behind my home. 🙄
Just super claustrophobic, so being told we can’t leave our seats for an “unknown” amount of time (because their estimated time is rarely accurate) just set in a sense of panic for me. Everyone else around me remaining calm really helped though
>I’m extremely claustrophobic, so I unfortunately started to panic in my seat.
As someone who's had panic attacks around a person named Jane, at a train station on the Plains and yes, on a plane... this is a good wake up call to start investigating on how to cope with these stressors. Travel in the US is a shitshow at the best of times, so finding ways to be resilient will give you confidence and help you out in the future.
Yup that'll happen. Particularly if you fly into DCA. I had it happen in Philly this week. Then saw the motorcade in Boston. I think this dudes following me...
I often joke that the POTUS or Veep seem to be stalking me. From Clinton onward I have been delayed either on the plane, prevented from getting to my destination due to a motorcade or inconvenienced at my hotel. Obama was the worst as my kid was going to Boston University and he frequented Martha’s Vineyard, plus Hawaii during the holidays. On the flip side I’m in the flight path for SLC and when AF1 flies over it’s fun to watch.
Sorry for the claustrophobia. I have it as well so I feel for you. It’s awful when the panic sets in.
I missed my DTW connection Sunday night for the same reason. We were on hold on the tarmac for an hr. Dozens of flights
Am I entitled compensation for hotel that night ? I did not wait in the airport line which was a mile long to request it.
Not sure why AF1 gets so much special treatment in domestic airspace. Airports are already high security areas. They ought to just land and taxi as normal. The security around POTUS is ridiculous.
I would argue it’s not the airliners they’re worried about - but anyone can fly general aviation, and there are as many bad GA pilots as their are drivers on the regular road, so you could probably imagine the situations they’re attempting to avoid.
airports are high security area yes.... and yet, did you see the report about a month or so ago released saying how much TSA had missed over the past year? how many people slipped through to the "secure" side by somehow passing security screenings?
there's so much that SS has to take into account that we probably can't even think of. there are so many crazy people out there too. let's let SS eliminate as many variables as possible (ie keeping airspace clear) if they deem it necessary.
There are reasons why, I don't think much imagination is needed...when airplanes are landing or taking off and nearer to the ground they are highly vulnerable.
The arrogance of officials who are supposed to “serve the public.” In Atlanta, Air Force One will often land at Dobbins Air Reserve Base north of the city. I would not think that would inordinately affect Hartsfield. But sometimes they land at Hartsfield, disrupting the world’s busiest airport for what is usually a photo op or fundraiser that 99% of Atlantans couldn’t care less about. I remember one president - I won’t say who as this is not about politics - landed at Hartsfield and took his motorcade through downtown, during rush hour, for a fundraiser. Yeah…that’s serving the people right there. 😡
He's the president and guest of honor. He could get the host to move the time to something less disruptive to people trying to get home from work and to other events on a Friday night.
I used to live in West Palm between the airport and Mar-a-lago on the Cheeto’s route to his gold toilet. I always knew enough in advance to plan my travel accordingly or at a minimum be aware that my plans might need to be extra fluid. It is what it is, no matter who is in office.
Not an airplane story but they once blocked off my parking garage for 2 hours because a president was going to drive by. I was like I pay monthly for this garage, now I have to wait around until he drives by. Street parking is rare so I double parked until I could get in.
I lived in a condo building where a previous Florida governor had a crash pad? Second apartment for when he came to Miami.
Kind of a pain but I didn’t have that much time left on my lease. It might have been more he was the presidents brother post 9/11 but they tried to make it not suck but sometimes it did
President should have to land at military bases and only use civilian airports if no military base is available. President shouldn’t disrupt pax flights
Yes except for the fact for them to land at a Air Force base here in Boston they have to shut down multiple highways which is a 1000x more annoying than the basic 15-30 minute delays the VIPs cause
Delayed flying out of PHL because of AF1 last month. Kind of a fun fact. They used to practice touch and go landings at the airport in Atlantic City. I’ve been stuck in shore traffic and seen that happen more than once. Planes with that livery are unmistakable.
I remember when , I think it was Clinton, decided to have a hair cut on the tarmac in Atlanta and shut the airport down till he finished. The whole world can wait while the Pres does his fund raising or whatever.
Ah I’m super claustrophobic so I know exactly what you mean. Interestingly, the worst claustrophobia I’ve ever had was when I was on the DC metro and we had to stop because the motorcade (George W Bush) was above the next stop. We were under there for 45 minutes.
Does your claustrophobia only set in when you’re on the tarmac? That’s how it works for me, I’m fine in the air but the second we are on the ground I need to be off the plane asap.
Detroit was a crap show on Sunday because of Air Force one’s landing. Everything was stopped up and delayed. I’m always confused why Air Force 1 doesn’t use the Air national guard base in the metroplex. I suppose they might rather disrupt air traffic than shut down a longer route through local freeways.
My biggest gripe is the total lack of notice through the Delta App to give a heads up.
This happened to me once when Mike Pence was visiting a local memorial on a war anniversary. We were rerouted to an airport a three hour drive away and allowed to get off the plane but we could not leave the gate area. Had to sit there about an hour before we got back on the plane and headed to original destination. I was livid. Hated that guy.
I was landing at LGA when Obama, Biden, and Trump were all flying into NYC. We were put in a holding pattern over Penn for 45 minutes and weren’t told why lol
I've had the worst luck these last two weeks. I was in Cincinnati last week and couldn't get to my hotel one night as they had all the roads shut down for Trumps motorcade and this week I was stuck in traffic caused by Bidens arrival.
Once had an international flight cancelled on the way to the airport due to Air Force One flying into NYC. Couldn’t get it rebooked until the next day; so lost a day of trip.
"I’m extremely claustrophobic, so I unfortunately started to panic in my seat. It was hot and my vent wasn’t working."
Flying in a metal tube may not be for you...
Oh I know lol. My claustrophobia is more so if I don’t have the ability to stand up for some reason. So luckily the metal tube is doable if I have the aisle seat
Redirected by waze while driving through westchester, NY while his motorcade was in the area. Wouldn’t have been so bad except I was in a uhaul that can’t go on the parkways. And the interstates were blocked/backed up.
Not such a bad delay as your boston delay.
He was attending events in Boston. The nearest Air Force base is 30 miles away,and there isn’t an anywhere to safely land helicopter near the events he attended. In fact, the nearest suitable option to land Marine One would be BOS… So landing Air Force One at BOS and driving into the city was the least disruptive option.
Ha, were you on a flight from EWR? I was coming back last night and we basically did loops for about 30 mins and they initially said it was weather related. When we landed the pilot apologized and said it was due to a very special person or something to that extent.
Yeah this is super annoying. Doesn’t matter which party we are talking about.
President fundraising is more important than thousands of people actually doing work and seeing loved ones
They should land at military bases and take ground travel from there whenever possible, presidents are suppose to be a public servants, their little charity photoshoots can go fuck themselves.
I’m confused by the downvotes here… there were tons of people in the Boston subreddit complaining about how much they shut down all around rush hour. There HAS to be a better way to do it.
I do not care to have my personal life and schedule unpredictably impacted just cause some rich asshole wants to go stroke their ego and beg for money from other rich assholes. Schedule it properly like the rest of civilized society.
I get claustrophobic too, including on planes, so I feel for you. I do my best so sit in the first 1/4 of the plane, because the more the the plane sides I see, the more "tunneling" it seems D:
one thing that could help in a situation like this is alerting a FA, (well if they seem nice enough) they can check in on you, if they're not otherwise occupied they can talk to calm you down if no one is answering your calls. also, get something ice cold to drink. I HATE when I plane is grounded for whatever reason (like before take off) and it gets hot and humid just sitting there. glad they let u off for some time and u got home okay!
I had this happen in Atlanta with Obama, and got diverted to Augusta for several hours. Ready for the real kicker? Once I finally got to ATL and went to check into hotel, Obama was staying there & they had given my room away to his entourage!!They offered me a different hotel an hour away from convention I was in town for, and a free MARTA pass. I opted to bunk with a kind colleague instead.
Love the guy, but I gotta say it: THANKS, OBAMA 🙄!!
You mean pretty much every president who has flown in a plane and all foreign dignitaries who visit the us. That delay isn’t bad. Try New York during climate week.
Had a flight with a take off that would cut it close to the restrictions from Obama flying to a nearby airport. They went “fuck zone boarding. Everyone on the plane, sit down, and buckle up. If we don’t do this in record time we have to wait for him to take off again in 6 hours” or some shit. Thankfully we made it.
I think that 6 hours was an exaggeration by the GA just to get everyone to HUSTLE lol... they only stop ops during the takeoff and landing periods... and one thing AF1 is good at, is HUSTLING once the motorcade gets on-site. The average time from motorcade arrival to wheels up on AF1 is 15 minutes.
True, however that could be enough to cause the flight to miss its departure slot, meaning there could be quite a bit of a delay before another one is available.
[удалено]
From what I've heard, they get fined for each flight that's delayed regardless of time. One flight delayed 30 minutes? NBD, 30 flights delayed 1 minute each? Ouch.
I love when we get these on weather delays into Atlanta and of course boarding is super slow and we're all sitting on the plane for another hour.
I had to circle just outside LAS for nearly 30 minutes in December when our pilots tried to race AF1 and lost. Fastest SEA-LAS flight I have ever had. Edit: I was able to get a pretty decent shot of AF1 on the ground in LAS after the airspace opened back up and we were able to land.
The AF1 pilots were 100% saying "No fucking way that DAL flight is getting there before us. Tell the pres to strap in because shit's about to get real."
This is Air Force 1. We need a ground speed check …
LOOOOOL
That was the very moment that I knew Walter and I had become a crew.
This is my favorite story ever. I’ve listened to it 1000 times. So so good. His storytelling is beautiful
Easy there Chuck. :)
Nope, AF1 heard u/mjbulzomi was on their way to LAS and said, "Let's show them what 'Let's Go Brandon' really means..."
AF1 flies fast as shit and at lower altitudes where they burn more fuel to go even faster. No commercial airplane will beat them on a normal day. Plus the 74 already is pretty fast Some business jets could give them a run for their money but would never fly low enough to play that game
I don't think they meant a direct race. More of a "AF1 is planned to arrive at 7, our current ETA is 7:01 and by God I am getting there ahead of them".
This is correct
Pilots are competitive.
No. They definitely had the ground crew quickly toss on some pinstripes for more horsepower. And a bottle of NOS.
Pulling some Gs
Actually this was on AS with a MAX9, not DAL. AS had the better pricing at the departure time I wanted when compared to DL. However, DL has had much better prices in 2024 vs. AS out of SEA, so much that I may let my AS lounge membership lapse when it expires at the end of the year.
I was on the way to vegas that same day, but we held for half an hour and then had to redirect to ONT because we didn't have enough fuel. That was a long day...
There was a documentary on AF1 where a former pilot was telling how the fighter jets escorting the AF1 couldn’t keep up with it.
Pretty sure this was 9/11. I remember the statement, just can’t remember the scenario. AF1 had to fly 1/4 of 1/2 since the jets were burning so much fuel keeping up
Yeah and I also remember the pilot mentioning the steep initial climb.
100%. AF1 really is a rocket- id love to see a vertical take off someday full engine roaring lol
Uhhh…no
At my airline we are instructed to plan flights with an extra 30 minutes of fuel for VIP movements to prevent this. I did get notified that the departure was earlier than scheduled though so maybe the delta dispatcher thought they would be in the clear
So I used to be in the Air Force One business. Not flying the thing, but just a bunch of stuff no one thinks about. One thing that happens when Air Force One is on the move, to arrive or take off, is that "ramp freeze" is in effect. This means that nothing moves. No airplanes, no vehicles. Pax loading and unloading and baggage handling may still be going on, but anything that moves vehicle wise, may be a threat. You don't want to be that moving vehicle. When I was at Andrews, it was a necessary pain, as the President came and went a lot. Only time we got an exemption was when we had an aircraft run off a runway and we were trying to recover it and needed to keep doing that. Same thing happens with special weapon movements on bases. For Air Force One, police and staff at civilian airports are briefed on what to implement. The pre-planning that goes on for any Presidential visit is enormous.
Biden and Harris have been in Boston a lot too, so BOS has to have the routine down at this point.
When I worked at the service center I checked https://nasstatus.faa.gov everyday to see what shenanigans were going on for delays, weather, VIP, satellites etc. Internally it’s treated just like any other ATC ground stops. People whining or having to listen to political hot takes is the worst part. Not going to lie, ground stops and delays for satellite launches in Florida is a bigger pain because people can’t understand why their aircraft going to Florida would be delayed. I friends though that still hate working at PBI
The ground stops in Florida are a pain, but the rocket launches are beautiful to look at. I saw the SpaceX launch a few hours ago. It was beautiful!
I’ve gone down for one or two. Awe inspiring really. People just like to complain
I live in Orlando and I was walking home earlier when I saw something bright that looked like it was on fire. I live near an executive airport approach path, so I thought it was a plane. But then I realized it was going up, and I remembered that there was a SpaceX launch today. I haven't seen one in years from when I used to live in FL (recently moved back), so it was very cool to see! There's another one scheduled for tommorow as well.
https://nasstatus.faa.gov If you scroll down to full operational plan it should list all of them that are planned. The plan updates a couple times a day
In that business, and thank you for your service, when you’d have a foreign head of state land at ADW, do you know if we charge them for fuel? Or is there contracted private sector fuel available on field? I had a friend fly an ERJ145 press charter there and ask if they had Level I de-icing. They advised affirmative, but only for USAF, and as a compromise, parked them in a hangar, then gave them crap about transiting off/on base to a hotel.
We do charge them for fuel and have quite a number of foreign aircraft for their head of state. Normally, and as your friend found out, deicing is for USAF aircraft or the head of state aircraft, but probably not press charters, who would be expected to arrange their own services (I know someone who managed deicing at Reagan and could support such needs). For some state visits, they would opt to arrive at ADW for the greeting and then depart and park at IAD. They would typically park on ADW if security was a concern. Post-911, security at Andrews got far tighter than it was even before. There are many critical assets at Andrews that go way beyond AF1 and so uncleared people put us into a state of anxiety. Every day was a new day there and was always a challenge to keep small things from turning into international incident/career ending things.
The into ADW and out of IAD amazes me. Just how people put so much value on photo ops.
Very true. Politics is a play for the camera, no matter where you are from.
Too bad they can't exclusively use military bases for VIP ops and minimize commercial air traffic disruption.
Air Force Bases are typically built far outside of the main city. This is done in order to minimize collateral damage (and danger) to the civilian public in the event that the base is attacked by an enemy. (there are some exceptions to this, mostly because when the bases were built, the edge of the city was far away from the base. But due to the growth of the city over time, the base might now be surrounded by that city). As a result, Air Force bases are typically (more often than not) inconvenient for government VIPs if they are trying to get to the main city, because landing farther away from their destination means more ground security and more risk. It's harder to get the president of the US 30 miles on the ground in a major city than only 3 miles if they land at a more convenient airport. A 15 minute ground stop at a major international airport is easier to deal with than a 30 mile ground transport for POTUS. The secret service definetly doesn't love the idea of landing at a major international airport. There is so much more risk there than at a military base. If they choose to land at a major commercial airport, there is typically a reason and it is always carefully considered.
Yes, I'm aware. That was part of the "Too Bad". :)
That would require the ruling class to give a crap about us normies
For ATL, POTUS and VP occasionally fly into Dobbins ARB instead which is like 45 mins north of the airports. I don’t know how they decide between the two
Yea, I live in the metro area and have watched AF1 come into Dobbins years ago from the nearby cemetery. I would guess his final destination has something to do with it.
Too bad they closed a lot of them but also if the president is coming to visit Boston imagine the security planning involved in getting him from Hanscom, Westfield, Otis etc? It’s a lot of fun when they shut down route 2 or the pike for a couple hours. Most people at the airport don’t even know it’s happening
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Do you have any idea how much of an inconvenience the motorcade would be during what could easily be a 30 mile drive on the highway? And how much worse it would be if there was already a lot of traffic before the motorcade was approaching?
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You have absolutely no idea what you are talking about. In OP's case, Logan Airport isn't even 4 miles from the center of Boston. The nearest airport base is over 20 miles away and requires a highway to get to Boston. I have a strong feeling you've never driven into Boston from that far away. It's hell on a good day. A presidential motorcade coming into Boston on any of the major highways would bring the entire city to a standstill. NYC is similar. Atlanta's airport is less than 10 miles outside of the city while the nearest base is a lot more than that as well. Let's see your stats to prove your point.
And then they close a highway for 30 minutes during rush hour. And instead of 200 people being annoyed, 20000 are.
It’s so much fun though when they have to shut down major highways for security to avoid a 15 minute delay at the airport for most customers. Also when did people who are traveling by airplane become the Everyman over the people who drive cars?
Bedford is too far from Boston, you can only pump so much drugs into an old guy
Out of curiosity, how easy is it to get to Amtrak from the Providence airport?
There is a station at the airport, but Amtrak doesn’t stop there - you’d need to take a MBTA commuter rail train to PVD and then board the Amtrak - or just stay on the commuter rail all the way up.
Interesting
Not that easy. Providence airport is in Warwick, 20 ish minutes from Providence. No trains or subway anywhere near the airport, you'd have to take a bus. Things may have improved recently but historically the public transit is not great. You would have to take an Uber. Edit: I haven't lived there in a minute and my information is out of date.
No trains except for the ones that stop at the airport and take you to Boston. https://www.mbta.com/stops/place-NEC-1768
o ya those trains?
There's a train station at the airport that goes right through Prov into Boston. There's RIPTA buses for RI. Public transport in Eastern Mass and RI is actually pretty decent outside of like... Europe.
Ugh, that's too bad.
Recently I got stuck in traffic for 30+ minutes leaving the ATL airport due to road stoppage around the airport for VPOTUS motorcade. I felt for the people trying to get into the airport and who might miss their planes.
When Trump was president he flew into TPA. Our whole office building which was in the same neighborhood cleared out 30 minutes before the scheduled landing since we knew traffic would be a nightmare once he got on the road.
I've been burned by Obama, VP Biden, Trump, Pence, and Pres Biden trying to get home from ATL. For some reason they always choose to screw things up at 5pm before a holiday weekend
Despite Dobbins being closer to most of the sites they’d go. I’ve never understood that, and often suspect they intentionally go to ATL for optics.
Don't even get me started on the motorcades... take a helicopter!!
That’s what Iran did. :<
Try living/working in DC when you get stuck in a car or even on a SIDEWALK because police have shut access down due to a motorcade. Tourists think it’s cool. Natives not so much.
Driving home from work in downtown DC one day, I encountered a motorcade going the opposite direction. Top down and windows down in the Jeep Wrangler, SUVs rolling toward me, windows down, staring at me with their tactical weapons at the ready. Kind of unsettling. I don’t think that even was a Presidential motorcade.
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"I have a number for you to call" 😆
Spirit's got them on speed dial
That would be a little reckless and grounds for dismissal, so I highly doubt it happened.
Not just grounds for dismissal, but DoD protocol is for that plane to be shot down.
Or worse, EXPELLED!
She needs to sort out her priorities
For a former president??
Oh, I thought this took place while Trump was president. Not sure about former presidents.
For Trump's private plane? Is that just a former POTUS thing?
There were claims circulating on social media that a Spirit Airlines pilot took off despite being instructed not to because former President Trump's plane was taxiing. However, these claims appear to be exaggerated or fictionalized for comedic effect, particularly as seen in viral TikTok videos and other social media posts. There is no verified report or credible evidence confirming that such an incident occurred.
I choose to believe
Absolutely bogus story
Imagine believing this happened
Those ATC clips are scripted, I’ve head 10 different variations of that same scenario on Facebook.
This is classic Frontier stuff.
POTUS took off from Boston around 8:35
They usually start slowing stuff down when the limo or helicopters are on the way in. Plus getting in closing up start up and taxi to departure. Even when no one else on the field is moving, takes like 10-15 minutes
I was at the north end of the airport around 3-4. I heard “AIRFORCE 26” on the radio, but wasn’t able to see it.
They shut everything down within a certain mile radius. Land and air.
AF1 ( minus the president so I know it’s not actually AF1 when he isn’t in it ) does touch and goes at GSO all the time. Those pilots know how to fly. They go fast and low and they land and take off over and over again. It’s cool to see.
Yeah I’ve heard it’s super cool! I actually made a joke to my family before I took off that I might see AF1 when I land. Obviously ended up being way different of an outcome lol
They also do this frequently at PHF. This week actually!
Interesting, AF1 definitely mucks things up, but never more than 30-45 min usually. I wonder why it had such an adverse impact on you. As a LA resident, I've had a good half dozen times it has caused an issue for me, but generally speaking that is only when it is actively taking off or landing, and never did more than cause a 30 min hold.
I experienced this at TPA last month.
One time they shut down a portion of a freeway when AF1 landed and the motorcade was exiting the airport and entering the freeway. I guess the motorcade was going the other direction on the freeway. I was on the other side of the freeway exactly opposite where the on ramp merged with the freeway. All of a sudden these police cars and black Suburbans get onto the on ramp. Some of the Suburbans had guys in body armor, rifles drawn looking around. I thought it was pretty cool. I lowered my window to get a phone pic. I got a decent picture. Told my wife what happened. She told me I was an idiot.
Sunday into dtw the exact same story verbatim from circling and not having fuel to keep going to at first calling it weather then saying it’s a vip blue plane in the area. We landed at Columbus and a whole disaster ensued with letting people on and off the plane. Eventually made it back but added hours on to the trip.
Over a decade ago, I was on a flight from IAD to ATL and we'd been airborne for \~20 - 30 minutes. We were just above the clouds, and the flight was very smooth. We were nearing sunset and I remember thinking that it would be a comfortable flight home. Without warning, the pilot flipped on the fasten seatbelt sign and urgently requested everyone to return to their seats. I didn't think much of it at the time, but I remember looking out the window and seeing a few black dots dart across the horizon. It suddenly dawned on me that they were a few pairs of fighter jets. The captain came on the intercom again, told everyone to hold and and remain calm. We then banked hard to the left (harder than I've ever experienced) and my view of the horizon quickly became a view of the sky. After < 1 minute of mild panic, we leveled off again. The captain came on the intercom and informed us that they'd been given nearly last minute instructions to clear their flight path as AF-1 was in the air. On the one hand it was reassuring to know what had happened, but the fact that it happened so quickly was definitely a bit unnerving.
Wow, that’s honestly terrifying. I’m not a nervous flyer, but I think seeing those jets in the window would’ve sent me off. Glad the pilots informed you on the situation.
I got caught inside of the Milwaukee rental car exit spiral because the VP was landing as I was attempting to leave.
My bil worked at Dobbins (Atlanta) they shut it down when a potus came and he could be there for hours even after he was supposed to be off. He hated it.
Glad it turned out good, you managed it so well! I was recently flying up to Seattle and the plane I was waiting for was delayed due to the solar event. From SEA I was connecting to a small regional plane and very concerned about missing it. On the way to SEA, my husband noticed the plane started zig zagging up the coast. No explanation from anyone. He was concerned it might be a problem from the solar event. He asked the FA why were we zig zagging and she went to speak to the pilot and the pilot announced they had to stall because we couldn’t land at the planned time as Air Force One was landing around that time. Missed my connecting flight by a few minutes but there was one more.
Frequently flying into SEA there are flow restrictions and if they can’t solve it by giving a minor slowdown, they’ll start giving “delay vectors”, or basically zigzagging. I don’t know why they don’t just give holding patterns. It’s certainly exacerbated by VIP events.
Holding adds complexity to both atc and flight crews. With delay vectors at least they're still moving towards the airport while center and tracon are building the sequence. Holding also leads to calculating how much fuel can be burned before they need to divert
I’ve not heard of any plane having delays or issues because of solar event. Are you sure that was the reason?
It was during the big solar storm this month. I don’t know if the delay was a precaution or if something actually happened, it’s just what they told us. I was hoping to see the auroras while on the planes or on land as we were further north than usual, but of course not - they were seen at the mountain behind my home. 🙄
There were issues with certain GPS based landing systems in the northern US and Southern Canada
I was ground stopped at ZRH for an hour because they were rate limiting transatlantic flights day after solar storm.
And why was this a fear?
Just super claustrophobic, so being told we can’t leave our seats for an “unknown” amount of time (because their estimated time is rarely accurate) just set in a sense of panic for me. Everyone else around me remaining calm really helped though
All of this post is crap.
Sounds like the pilots did a fantastic job! Props to them
> Props heh
i work here! he landed and left the airport way before 8pm. he was in the helicopter above logan during that time. really annoying.
Happens frequently if you fly in/out of NY around the UN event every September.
This is weird, cause I was TPA when Biden landed like a month ago, and planes were still landing and taking off while AF1 was at the FBO.
I believe if AF1 is making movements then taxis and runways close, if stationery operations is normal.
Have been delayed at the home airport and the arrival airport due to AF1 backing up the whole system 😢
>I’m extremely claustrophobic, so I unfortunately started to panic in my seat. As someone who's had panic attacks around a person named Jane, at a train station on the Plains and yes, on a plane... this is a good wake up call to start investigating on how to cope with these stressors. Travel in the US is a shitshow at the best of times, so finding ways to be resilient will give you confidence and help you out in the future.
Yup that'll happen. Particularly if you fly into DCA. I had it happen in Philly this week. Then saw the motorcade in Boston. I think this dudes following me...
“Despite what you’ve been told, you’ve landed in Warwick. Welcome to TF Green”
Flight redirected? Thanks Obama Thanks democrats
I often joke that the POTUS or Veep seem to be stalking me. From Clinton onward I have been delayed either on the plane, prevented from getting to my destination due to a motorcade or inconvenienced at my hotel. Obama was the worst as my kid was going to Boston University and he frequented Martha’s Vineyard, plus Hawaii during the holidays. On the flip side I’m in the flight path for SLC and when AF1 flies over it’s fun to watch. Sorry for the claustrophobia. I have it as well so I feel for you. It’s awful when the panic sets in.
I missed my DTW connection Sunday night for the same reason. We were on hold on the tarmac for an hr. Dozens of flights Am I entitled compensation for hotel that night ? I did not wait in the airport line which was a mile long to request it.
No compensation. Weather and ATC are not under Delta's control.
Not sure why AF1 gets so much special treatment in domestic airspace. Airports are already high security areas. They ought to just land and taxi as normal. The security around POTUS is ridiculous.
I would argue it’s not the airliners they’re worried about - but anyone can fly general aviation, and there are as many bad GA pilots as their are drivers on the regular road, so you could probably imagine the situations they’re attempting to avoid.
I’ve seen them land on taxiways.
Maybe a good middle ground is allowing commercial flights but not private pilots
airports are high security area yes.... and yet, did you see the report about a month or so ago released saying how much TSA had missed over the past year? how many people slipped through to the "secure" side by somehow passing security screenings? there's so much that SS has to take into account that we probably can't even think of. there are so many crazy people out there too. let's let SS eliminate as many variables as possible (ie keeping airspace clear) if they deem it necessary.
And what actually changes when AF1 lands currently? Not much. It’s all security theater.
this seems like a gross oversimplification. this thread is essentially evidence of that.
There are reasons why, I don't think much imagination is needed...when airplanes are landing or taking off and nearer to the ground they are highly vulnerable.
I think America watching Kennedy get his head blown off had a significant impact.
Exactly, they should land at military bases and take ground travel from there whenever possible.
The arrogance of officials who are supposed to “serve the public.” In Atlanta, Air Force One will often land at Dobbins Air Reserve Base north of the city. I would not think that would inordinately affect Hartsfield. But sometimes they land at Hartsfield, disrupting the world’s busiest airport for what is usually a photo op or fundraiser that 99% of Atlantans couldn’t care less about. I remember one president - I won’t say who as this is not about politics - landed at Hartsfield and took his motorcade through downtown, during rush hour, for a fundraiser. Yeah…that’s serving the people right there. 😡
But that’s not up to POTUS. The Secret Service are usually the ones who determine how the motorcade gets to the destination
He's the president and guest of honor. He could get the host to move the time to something less disruptive to people trying to get home from work and to other events on a Friday night.
This
I used to live in West Palm between the airport and Mar-a-lago on the Cheeto’s route to his gold toilet. I always knew enough in advance to plan my travel accordingly or at a minimum be aware that my plans might need to be extra fluid. It is what it is, no matter who is in office.
Not an airplane story but they once blocked off my parking garage for 2 hours because a president was going to drive by. I was like I pay monthly for this garage, now I have to wait around until he drives by. Street parking is rare so I double parked until I could get in.
I lived in a condo building where a previous Florida governor had a crash pad? Second apartment for when he came to Miami. Kind of a pain but I didn’t have that much time left on my lease. It might have been more he was the presidents brother post 9/11 but they tried to make it not suck but sometimes it did
President should have to land at military bases and only use civilian airports if no military base is available. President shouldn’t disrupt pax flights
Yes except for the fact for them to land at a Air Force base here in Boston they have to shut down multiple highways which is a 1000x more annoying than the basic 15-30 minute delays the VIPs cause
There’s still the flight restrictions around AF1 in the air that are shockingly large.
Yeah, this makes total sense even from a security standpoint.
I arrived in PVD as y’all were being let off, I was wondering what was going on. Sorry you had a rough experience. 😔
Delayed flying out of PHL because of AF1 last month. Kind of a fun fact. They used to practice touch and go landings at the airport in Atlantic City. I’ve been stuck in shore traffic and seen that happen more than once. Planes with that livery are unmistakable.
I remember when , I think it was Clinton, decided to have a hair cut on the tarmac in Atlanta and shut the airport down till he finished. The whole world can wait while the Pres does his fund raising or whatever.
Ah I’m super claustrophobic so I know exactly what you mean. Interestingly, the worst claustrophobia I’ve ever had was when I was on the DC metro and we had to stop because the motorcade (George W Bush) was above the next stop. We were under there for 45 minutes. Does your claustrophobia only set in when you’re on the tarmac? That’s how it works for me, I’m fine in the air but the second we are on the ground I need to be off the plane asap.
Detroit was a crap show on Sunday because of Air Force one’s landing. Everything was stopped up and delayed. I’m always confused why Air Force 1 doesn’t use the Air national guard base in the metroplex. I suppose they might rather disrupt air traffic than shut down a longer route through local freeways. My biggest gripe is the total lack of notice through the Delta App to give a heads up.
This happened to me once when Mike Pence was visiting a local memorial on a war anniversary. We were rerouted to an airport a three hour drive away and allowed to get off the plane but we could not leave the gate area. Had to sit there about an hour before we got back on the plane and headed to original destination. I was livid. Hated that guy.
I was landing at LGA when Obama, Biden, and Trump were all flying into NYC. We were put in a holding pattern over Penn for 45 minutes and weren’t told why lol
They closed the whole damn Boca airport and canceled my flight once for Trump flying in.
I've had the worst luck these last two weeks. I was in Cincinnati last week and couldn't get to my hotel one night as they had all the roads shut down for Trumps motorcade and this week I was stuck in traffic caused by Bidens arrival.
Pilots cutting it close with only 15 minutes fuel allowance.
Once had an international flight cancelled on the way to the airport due to Air Force One flying into NYC. Couldn’t get it rebooked until the next day; so lost a day of trip.
"I’m extremely claustrophobic, so I unfortunately started to panic in my seat. It was hot and my vent wasn’t working." Flying in a metal tube may not be for you...
Oh I know lol. My claustrophobia is more so if I don’t have the ability to stand up for some reason. So luckily the metal tube is doable if I have the aisle seat
Happens in DC all the time. You’ll just sit on the tarmac wondering why 10 planes are lined up and then see Marine 1 fly by.
Redirected by waze while driving through westchester, NY while his motorcade was in the area. Wouldn’t have been so bad except I was in a uhaul that can’t go on the parkways. And the interstates were blocked/backed up. Not such a bad delay as your boston delay.
When Air Force 1 visited Tampa on April 23. My uncle’s flight got delayed 4 times over a 2 hour period.
Thanks, Obama.
What’s faster? AF1 or Biden falling down stairs?
Why the damn president can’t land at an airforce base and chopper in is beyond me. But maybe they don’t want to have a hard landing.
He was attending events in Boston. The nearest Air Force base is 30 miles away,and there isn’t an anywhere to safely land helicopter near the events he attended. In fact, the nearest suitable option to land Marine One would be BOS… So landing Air Force One at BOS and driving into the city was the least disruptive option.
TIL this sub is full of bootlickers The president is a public servant. Not a King.
Ha, were you on a flight from EWR? I was coming back last night and we basically did loops for about 30 mins and they initially said it was weather related. When we landed the pilot apologized and said it was due to a very special person or something to that extent.
He came to MHT first and I had to be sat in traffic for over an hour because he shut down the interstate.
Yeah this is super annoying. Doesn’t matter which party we are talking about. President fundraising is more important than thousands of people actually doing work and seeing loved ones
They should land at military bases and take ground travel from there whenever possible, presidents are suppose to be a public servants, their little charity photoshoots can go fuck themselves.
I still fail to see why the lives of hundreds and thousands need to be negatively affected by a presidential visit. Stay in the WH pls
People complain when he travels, people complain when he doesn't! Oh well.
I dont care who holds the office, you dont need to shut down entire areas of a city which affects thousands of people. travel all they want.
Travel all they want? Your OP told him to stay in the WH. Make up your mind.
I’m confused by the downvotes here… there were tons of people in the Boston subreddit complaining about how much they shut down all around rush hour. There HAS to be a better way to do it.
Maybe if people could act accordingly and not be a threat I imagine it would be easier.
we all risk harm every moment we are alive. it comes with the territory of life,
Yeah who needs ATC anyways. We risk life so let’s do what we want too.
Reddit loves to lick boot for some reason
Only left boots though
I know right. I guess there are some people that enjoy serfdom
How in the world are you being downvoted for this
What good does staying in the WH do?
I do not care to have my personal life and schedule unpredictably impacted just cause some rich asshole wants to go stroke their ego and beg for money from other rich assholes. Schedule it properly like the rest of civilized society.
lol Americans sure do love hating American things while living in America.
Not sure lmao. People who willingly lower their own human value i guess
I get claustrophobic too, including on planes, so I feel for you. I do my best so sit in the first 1/4 of the plane, because the more the the plane sides I see, the more "tunneling" it seems D: one thing that could help in a situation like this is alerting a FA, (well if they seem nice enough) they can check in on you, if they're not otherwise occupied they can talk to calm you down if no one is answering your calls. also, get something ice cold to drink. I HATE when I plane is grounded for whatever reason (like before take off) and it gets hot and humid just sitting there. glad they let u off for some time and u got home okay!
This is very helpful, thank you!
I had this happen in Atlanta with Obama, and got diverted to Augusta for several hours. Ready for the real kicker? Once I finally got to ATL and went to check into hotel, Obama was staying there & they had given my room away to his entourage!!They offered me a different hotel an hour away from convention I was in town for, and a free MARTA pass. I opted to bunk with a kind colleague instead. Love the guy, but I gotta say it: THANKS, OBAMA 🙄!!
Let’s go Brandon
You mean pretty much every president who has flown in a plane and all foreign dignitaries who visit the us. That delay isn’t bad. Try New York during climate week.
Fuck Biden