How COVID is going to change the way you experience this weekend’s Fort Lauderdale Air Show
Fans of the Fort Lauderdale Air Show had to sit tight for five months, but the popular military showcase event is happening this weekend, after all.
Organizers opted to postpone the traditional May event to Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 21-22, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Alas, the coronavirus crisis is surging again in Florida, with daily cases reported by the state up about 150% from where they were on Oct. 1.
So while the action in the air promises the usual mighty wings’ razzle-dazzle from all four U.S. Air Force fighter jet demonstration teams this year — including the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, F-16 Viper and A-10 Thunderbolt II Demonstration Teams — your experience on the ground will feel different from previous Air Shows.
COVID initiatives, rules during the Air Show
The Fort Lauderdale Air Show is implementing a series of “Stay safe initiatives” due to the coronavirus at the rescheduled event. The rules and “initiatives” apply to all guests, including those in premium viewing venues.
Rules
▪ Tickets must be purchased online or by phone; they will not be sold on-site at the event. You can buy tickets and get information via the Air Show website or call 877-377-8499.
▪ Wearing a mask is required when you are less than 6 feet from others. So when you are going to the restroom or getting food and drinks you need to wear a mask. Organizers are making mask-wearing optional if you are separated from others by at least 6 feet.
Initiatives
▪ Increased the size of the Drop Zone Beach and the Flight Line Club venues to help people spread out.
▪ Reduced the capacity in each venue so guests can separate as much as possible from other groups.
▪ More entrances and allowing early entry to mitigate lines. Enforcement of 6 feet of separation for guests waiting to check in.
▪ Contactless ticket scanning, and the wristbands will be individually packaged so you can put them on yourself.
▪ Frequent sanitization of all surfaces and restrooms. And hand-washing and sanitizing stations in all premium viewing areas.
▪ Promoting credit card, rather than cash, usage for food, drink and merchandise purchases.
▪ New premium viewing area for 2020 called “The Sand Boxes.” This more personalized area is designed for the at-risk, elderly and families with small children.
▪ The public address sound normally available in the immediate area around Show Center will be much more limited and only be audible in premium viewing areas to discourage spectators from converging around the perimeter fence, organizers said. A text feed version of the narration will be made available via the event’s Twitter page at FLLairshow.
Traffic advisory
Even in normal times, the Air Show ties up traffic over the weekend. State Road A1A will be closed between Sunrise Boulevard and Northeast 19th Court from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. There will be lane closures along A1A and surrounding streets during set-up and breakdown.
Set-up will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday and breakdown will be on Monday, Nov. 23, until the entire site has been returned to normal, organizers say.
Motorists and bicyclists will be detoured around road closures in this area and should plan to be detoured via North Federal Highway between Oakland Park Boulevard and Sunrise Boulevard.
How COVID affected other signature events
This season’s Seminole Hard Rock Winterfest Boat Parade that was set for December in Fort Lauderdale is canceled due to COVID-19.
So is the Coconut Grove Arts Festival, which was scheduled for Presidents’ Day weekend in February. The arts festival will return in 2022.
Rolling Loud Miami, however, has ambitious plans to hold its full hip-hop music festival at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium in May 2021, organizers announced on Monday.
This story was originally published November 18, 2020 at 1:40 PM.
