A White House flyover by the US presidential airplane as part of a children’s Halloween party on Thursday evening delayed dozens of flights and raised concerns among some in the nation’s capital.
It startled many, including us. Most of those delays were tied to the airport disruption. The District of Columbia city council said in a social media post that only 15 minutes’ notice was provided before the flyover “to anyone in downtown DC, at the Pentagon, or at National Airport. FlightAware, a flight-tracking website, said 26% of departing flights and 17% of arriving flights were delayed on Thursday — or 202 in total.
Some people flying to Washington reported that their planes were forced to circle or that they faced delays due to the flyover.
Airline officials also said they had less than an hour’s notice before the flyover. The plane — which is designated Air Force One when President Donald Trump is on board — made two lower-than-normal passes around the White House on Thursday evening, which prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to temporarily halt traffic at nearby Reagan Washington National Airport.
