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Posted on 09/17/2025 12:25:59 PM PDT by Red Badger
‘Pay attention!’, Spirit Airline pilots are told.
The crew of a passenger jet was reprimanded for taking a flight course too close to Air Force One and for taking too long to adjust direction.
The incident occurred over Long Island, and President Donald J. Trump was aboard AF1.
New York Post reported:
“Pilots flying Spirit Airlines Flight 1300, traveling from Fort Lauderdale to Boston, were scolded by an air traffic controller Tuesday after they tried warning them, they were rapidly closing in on the president’s plane altitude and flight path as it was en route to the United Kingdom.
[…] ‘Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right’, the air traffic controller said, according to recordings from liveatc.net.
‘Pay attention, Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right. Spirit 1300, turn 20 degrees right, now. Spirit wings 1300, turn 20 degrees right, immediately’.”
Air Force One was taking Trump to his state visit to the UK. After a delay, the pilots acknowledged the instructions and adjusted the course.
“However, the air traffic controller reprimanded them again to ‘pay attention’ to whom they were getting close to.
‘Spirit 1300, traffic off your left wing by six mi– or eight miles, 747. I’m sure you can see who it is. Keep an eye out for him — he’s white and blue’, the controller said. […] ‘Pay attention! Get off the iPad’.”
It’s reported that Air Force One was never in real danger, despite the emphatic messages of the air traffic controller.
Both Air Force One and the Spirit Airlines plane landed safely in London and Boston, respectively.
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AVIATION Ping!...................
Why do you post GP’s regurgitation of NYP’s original reporting instead of posting the original NYP article?
Sounds like ATC has dealt with lazy DEI? Spirit pilots before
Good one
YEP
that airline stranded dozens of paid passengers at the departure airport after cancelling the flight WEEKS IN ADVANCE without any notice to the ticket-holders.
we were never refunded or compensated, either
suggest alternate airlines!
“Get off the Ipad”. Yeah, the tower knows what is going on with these guys. I don’t like the sounds of this at all. Someone needs grounded.
Never had anything close to that type of experience with Spirit and Ive flown on them for about a dozen flights this year. In fact when they did change my itinerary from nonstop to segmented they not only notified me multiple times but allowed me to change to a nonstop new itinerary for free. Spirit gets a bad rap but I’ve never had a bad experience with them. Not to mention if you pack light flying is extremely affordable with them. I’m sad to hear they’re going bankrupt. The other budget airlines such as Frontier have very limited routes.
Should have just shot it down, the usual passengers were not worth the risk.
American airlines service is not much better and is typically twice the price
Indeed, spirit ran the cheapest service on the route on our itinerary.
At least when tix were booked far in advance.
The airlines at the neighboring boarding counters saw the stranded spirit passengers and sprang immediately to help us all. (Since there were no spirit employees in the terminal). They got me on another airline’s flight in time for me to give the funeral eulogy I’d been asked to deliver. However, the last- minute alternate tix etc added over $2000 to our expenses. A fine example of the wisdom of carrying a couple credit cards even if you have no plans or foreseeable needs to use them.
Traveling is never fun. Sorry about that experience. Direct flights are the way to go I have learned the hard way
Direct flights are indeed the better way to go
(if there are direct flights between your origin and destination points) if you are rural area, this is not always the case... also, some major airlines like to use the “spoke and axle” routing system whereby they fly you into a major “hub” airport and you then have to change planes to where you’re headed.
The media is making way too much out of this. The planes were 8 miles apart and it was not considered a security breach. Yes the pilots were slow to respond which raised some concern and there probably should be some investigation of that for sloppy performance but not the way the media is blowing it out of proportion.
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