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Military

Marine Corps Cancels Miramar Air Show Due To Ongoing COVID-19 Concerns

The Patriots Jet Team performs aerial acrobatics during the Marine Corps Community Services sponsored annual Air Show on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California, Oct. 13, 2012.
Lance Cpl. Matthew R. Howe / U.S. Marine
The Patriots Jet Team performs aerial acrobatics during the Marine Corps Community Services sponsored annual Air Show on Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, San Diego, California, Oct. 13, 2012.

Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Marine Corps Community Services Miramar canceled the 2021 Miramar Air Show Thursday due to the continuing public health risks associated with COVID-19.

The Miramar Air Show is the largest military air show in the world and typically one of the largest single public events in San Diego, drawing in upwards of half a million guests and spectators from around the globe every year.

Due to uncertainty surrounding the spread of coronavirus across our communities, Col. Charles Dockery, commanding officer of MCAS Miramar, made the decision to suspend this fall's scheduled event and look to begin the early planning for a show in 2022.

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"The Miramar Air Show brings in aviation and military enthusiasts from every corner of the world," Dockery said. "While San Diego continues to lead the way in vaccines and beginning to reopen, there are still a great many risks involved with a gathering on the scale of our air show.

"MCAS Miramar has always prioritized our community's safety throughout the pandemic, beginning the moment we hosted evacuees from Wuhan to our daily operations delivering National Defense, and this decision is no different. It remains the right choice to look ahead to 2022 and make it better than ever," Dockery said.

Sponsors, vendors and chalet clients may contact Marine Corps Community Services at 858-307-6365 for customized plans for the 2022 Miramar Air Show.

It's not likely that San Diego County will be able to loosen COVID-19 restrictions -- moving out of the orange tier into the least restrictive yellow tier - before June 15, according to County supervisor Nathan Fletcher. June 15 is the date Gov. Gavin Newsom has set to lift all remaining restrictions. Meanwhile, Scripps Health continues to battle a cyberattack. Plus, the TCM Classic Film Festival is on and more accessible than ever.