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Will the Pope's Travel Affect East Coast Air Traffic?

Will the Pope's Travel Affect East Coast Air Traffic?

Old Sep 21, 2015, 12:42 pm
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Will the Pope's Travel Affect East Coast Air Traffic?

When tracking a shipment on FedEx at the top they have a notice saying: "FedEx anticipates delays and disruptions in the Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia metro areas because of the papal visit."

Wasn't really on my radar so I looked up which days he is in NY and he is due to arrive on the 24th which is when I am flying in/out to SDQ from EWR. For all the extravagance there is no Angel One private plane and apparently they hire an Alitalia charter so I'm assuming he goes to JFK.

Was curious if there are also the Air Force One airport type shutdowns for normal fliers or if it was just all the motorcade routes and things that are mucking up FedEx.
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 12:45 pm
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http://www.flyertalk.com/articles/ev...ing-visit.html

Yes.
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 12:56 pm
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Originally Posted by JVPhoto
When tracking a shipment on FedEx at the top they have a notice saying: "FedEx anticipates delays and disruptions in the Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia metro areas because of the papal visit."

Wasn't really on my radar so I looked up which days he is in NY and he is due to arrive on the 24th which is when I am flying in/out to SDQ from EWR. For all the extravagance there is no Angel One private plane and apparently they hire an Alitalia charter so I'm assuming he goes to JFK.

Was curious if there are also the Air Force One airport type shutdowns for normal fliers or if it was just all the motorcade routes and things that are mucking up FedEx.
I can't speak to the impacts of the Pope's visit, but Air Force One certainly causes things to grind to a halt, both on the ground and in the air. 3 times now I have been stung by the departure of Air Force One, twice on the ground, and one time in the air. For ground ops, you can be in the middle of taxiing to the runway when you get the call to not only stop, but shut off the engine. Had that 2 times now. In the air, and minutes from landing, got the same call. Spent 40 minutes in a holding pattern, was number 2 for landing, but I offered my landing slot to the King Air that was number 3, as he was getting low on fuel and was very close to diverting to his alternate. Helps that we knew each other, plus he bought me a beer that evening for my help.
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 1:00 pm
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Originally Posted by COSPILOT
I can't speak to the impacts of the Pope's visit, but Air Force One certainly causes things to grind to a halt, both on the ground and in the air. 3 times now I have been stung by the departure of Air Force One, twice on the ground, and one time in the air. For ground ops, you can be in the middle of taxiing to the runway when you get the call to not only stop, but shut off the engine. Had that 2 times now. In the air, and minutes from landing, got the same call. Spent 40 minutes in a holding pattern, was number 2 for landing, but I offered my landing slot to the King Air that was number 3, as he was getting low on fuel and was very close to diverting to his alternate. Helps that we knew each other, plus he bought me a beer that evening for my help.
If the USA President's plane is called 'Air Force One', what is the Pope's plane called?
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 1:05 pm
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Originally Posted by LarkSFO
If the USA President's plane is called 'Air Force One', what is the Pope's plane called?
Good one!

Honestly, I haven't looked at how the Pope is traveling on this trip. I assume he is flying in a private plane, but given his humble nature, I could see him insisting he fly coach (in a middle seat). I'm not Catholic but he seems pretty cool IMO.
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 1:14 pm
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Originally Posted by COSPILOT
Good one!

Honestly, I haven't looked at how the Pope is traveling on this trip. I assume he is flying in a private plane, but given his humble nature, I could see him insisting he fly coach (in a middle seat). I'm not Catholic but he seems pretty cool IMO.
From what I googled on the Vatican's own site it says that they charter an Alitalia plane that is a "regular" one, no offices or work suites and such.

I was surprised there wasn't an Angel One always on the ready.
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 1:22 pm
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As this is not specific to United, but will affect all NE corridor air traffic, please follow the thread to its new location, the TravelBuzz forum.

(For those concerned about the effects of the Papal visit on ground traffic, there are active threads on this in the New York City and Washington, D.C., regional forums.)

Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator, United and TravelBuzz.
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 1:43 pm
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Originally Posted by COSPILOT
Good one!

Honestly, I haven't looked at how the Pope is traveling on this trip. I assume he is flying in a private plane, but given his humble nature, I could see him insisting he fly coach (in a middle seat). I'm not Catholic but he seems pretty cool IMO.
The Vatican does not have a State aircraft. Traditionally the Pope has flown on a charter aircraft flagged by the country he is departing from. That means he's always flying Alitalia when leaving Rome but often on another carrier when returning. In this case there's no way a Cuban-flagged plane was going to be used in to the USA but I do not know what he'll fly home on.

The Vatican City doesn't have a papal plane. It has to rely on a chartered jet provided by Alitalia. When the Pope leaves a country, the protocol is that he should fly on board a plane from that country's flagship airline. In the case of Pope Francis' recent visit to the Philippines, he arrived in Manila onboard a SriLankan Airlines jet, since he was previously in Sri Lanka, and left with a Philippine Airlines aircraft. If a country the Pope visits doesn't have an airline that would meet the Vatican standards in terms of security, size, and other concerns, he will fly with Alitalia instead.
http://www.exyuaviation.com/p/saraje...for-papal.html
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 4:25 pm
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Originally Posted by LarkSFO
If the USA President's plane is called 'Air Force One', what is the Pope's plane called?
Shepherd One
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 8:25 pm
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As he drives in the Popemobile, he should fly in the Popeplane.
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Old Sep 21, 2015, 10:00 pm
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its ridiculous that they make all planes stop when af1 takes off or lands.
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Old Sep 22, 2015, 1:20 am
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Originally Posted by SANDTWFAN
its ridiculous that they make all planes stop when af1 takes off or lands.
Ever been in China? The military closes the airspace whenever they feel like it, not even necessary to have a VIP starting/landing.
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Old Sep 22, 2015, 1:24 am
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From what I've seen, his flights are often coded as AZ 4000
http://www.flightradar24.com/data/flights/az4000/
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Old Sep 22, 2015, 3:40 pm
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Originally Posted by LarkSFO
If the USA President's plane is called 'Air Force One', what is the Pope's plane called?
A colleague called it Pope Force One just now.

And he flew an Alitalia A330-200 to DC today. It's registered to Cayenne Aviation, a leasing company in Ireland. Tail EI-EJG.

Code:
EI-EJG	AIRBUS INDUSTRIE	A330-202	LAND AEROPLANE	06/07/2010	230000	2010	1123	4CA87C	GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY	CF6-80E1A4B	2	CAYENNE AVIATION MSN 1123 LIMITED	6th FLOOR, PINNACLE 2, EASTPOINT BUSINESS PARK , DUBLIN 3,
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Old Sep 22, 2015, 7:52 pm
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Originally Posted by gfunkdave
And he flew an Alitalia A330-200 to DC today.
And, keeping with tradition, he'll fly a US-flagged plane for the rest of the trip. In this case that's an AA 777.
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