The Thunderbirds and Blue Angels will overfly New York City on Tuesday
This post contains references to products from one or more of our advertisers. We may receive compensation when you click on links to those products. Terms apply to the offers listed on this page. For an explanation of our Advertising Policy, visit this page.
New York City and parts of New Jersey and Long Island will be treated on Tuesday to an overflight by the aerobatic teams of the U.S. Air Force and Navy, in a rare joint appearance as part of a nationwide tour meant to honor first responders and essential workers during the coronavirus pandemic.
The Air Force’s Thunderbirds and the Navy’s Blue Angels will begin the tour on April 28 over New York and New Jersey, followed by Philadelphia on the same day.
The city of New York’s emergency-announcement Twitter account notified residents on Monday of the upcoming event, saying the planes will fly over Manhattan, Staten Island and Brooklyn at approximately 1,500 feet beginning at noon.
The Washington Post reported, citing senior government officials and a memo, that the military planned the tour to “champion national unity.” The Post also reported that while the cost of the initiative could be $60,000 an hour, the money is already in the Pentagon’s budget. The memo cited by the newspaper said joint flyovers by the Blue Angels and the Thunderbirds will also happen in Washington, Baltimore, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston and Austin — but the list could change.
According to a map of the overflight published on the Blue Angels’ official Facebook page, the planes will in fact overfly all five of the city’s boroughs, including Queens and the Bronx, which the tweet from Notify NYC did not mention.
The 15 jets — eight F-16s in the red, white and blue of the Thunderbirds and seven Blue Angel F-18s in blue and gold — will appear from the north at noon over the eastern section of the Bronx, then fly down the west side of Manhattan before veering west towards New Jersey, looping around Newark airport then crossing midtown Manhattan towards Brooklyn. The route will then pass over Staten Island and Queens, followed by an overflight of Long Island and ending at 12:40 p.m. over the Verrazzano Bridge.
After overflying New York City, the two teams will head to Philadelphia via a stop at Joint Base McGuire in New Jersey — the base, incidentally, from which the Air Force tanker jet that startled New Yorkers last week came. This time, people have been alerted in advance. The planes will be flying far below the speed of sound, so there won’t be any broken windows, but 15 fighter jets at low level are still very loud. Fighters sometimes fly over New York City to patrol the skies during major events, but they do so at high altitude, where their noise is much less perceptible.
The jets won’t be performing aerobatics, either, which would be too dangerous over a densely populated area; they will instead be flying in formation.
Check back with us tomorrow on the site and on our Instagram for photos and videos of the flyover from our New York-based staff — and keep in mind the warning in the Navy’s Facebook post: “residents should observe the flyover from the safety of their home-quarantine and should refrain from traveling to see the flyover. Social distancing should be practiced at all times.”
Featured photo of the Thunderbirds on April 11, 2020 over North Las Vegas, Nevada, by Gabe Ginsberg/Getty Images
Sign-up Successful!
Welcome to The Points Guy!
Earn 90,000 bonus miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new card in the first three months of card membership. Offer ends 11/10/2021.
With Status Boost™, earn 10,000 Medallion Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, up to two times per year getting you closer to Medallion Status. Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels, 2X Miles at restaurants and at U.S. supermarkets and earn 1X Mile on all other eligible purchases. Terms Apply.
- Limited Time Offer: Earn 90,000 Bonus Miles and 10,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) after you spend $3,000 in purchases on your new Card in your first 3 months. Offer expires 11/10/2021.
- Earn up to 20,000 Medallion® Qualification Miles (MQMs) with Status Boost® per year. After you spend $25,000 in purchases on your Card in a calendar year, you can earn 10,000 MQMs two times per year, getting you closer to Medallion® Status. MQMs are used to determine Medallion® Status and are different than miles you earn toward flights.
- Earn 3X Miles on Delta purchases and purchases made directly with hotels.
- Earn 2X Miles at restaurants worldwide, including takeout and delivery and at U.S. supermarkets.
- Earn 1X Miles on all other eligible purchases.
- Receive a Domestic Main Cabin round-trip companion certificate each year upon renewal of your Card. *Payment of the government imposed taxes and fees of no more than $75 for roundtrip domestic flights (for itineraries with up to four flight segments) is required. Baggage charges and other restrictions apply. See terms and conditions for details.
- Enjoy your first checked bag free on Delta flights.
- Fee Credit for Global Entry or TSA Pre✓®.
- Enjoy an exclusive rate of $39 per person per visit to enter the Delta Sky Club® for you and up to two guests when traveling on a Delta flight.
- No Foreign Transaction Fees.
- $250 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.
- See Rates & Fees
Disclaimer: The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser’s responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
Editorial Disclaimer: Opinions expressed here are the author’s alone, not those of any bank, credit card issuer, airlines or hotel chain, and have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by any of these entities.