.png)
Blue Angels canceled: The high-flying U.S. Navy Blue Angeles air show will likely be canceled if a sequestration deal cannot be reached.
The U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly in formation as they pass over the USS Donald Cook (DDG 75) on the Hudson River during the Parade of Ships for the start of Fleet Week May 23, 2012 in New York City. (Allison Joyce/Getty Images)
If the sequestration deal cannot be reached, the U.S. Navy’s Blue Angels flying team might be canceled. The automatic $85 billion in spending cuts that will take effect on Friday might force the team to put a halt to shows, which perform across the United States.
There are Blue Angels shows slated for more than two dozen cities between April and September, reports Reuters. But these shows are expected to be canceled due to the cuts, Lieutenant Katie Kelly said. Several Blue Angel shows have already been canceled.
Lieutenant John Supple, a spokesman for Chief of Naval Air Training in Texas, said the flying team would have to be put on hold, at the very least, for “making sure ships are seaworthy and planes are airworthy for the war fighters who are operating overseas,” according to Reuters.
Ashton Hayward, mayor of Pensacola, Florida, said that the Blue Angels are “an American icon, and they really resonate in a military town.”
“People plan their annual family trips around the shows and the impact on business is phenomenal,” Hayward added. “If the Blue Angels end, it’s going to be a sad, sad day for not just us, but for millions of people all over the country.”
However, the Blue Angels will make an appearance at Ocean City, Maryland, on June 8 and June 9, reported The Dispatch.
“As we have in the past, we are anxiously looking forward to the OC Air Show this year. It is a terrific event and you have done a great job. Promoting it and providing the acts necessary to make it successful,” Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan told the publication.
But shows scheduled in May at North Carolina’s Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and for June in Indianapolis were canceled, according to Reuters.
The Epoch Times publishes in 35 countries and in 21 languages. Subscribe to our e-newsletter.
