Spirit Airlines Flight Repeatedly Ordered to Turn While Near Air Force One
Air traffic control audio captures multiple commands to a Spirit flight as President Trump traveled to the U.K.; Spirit says the jet landed uneventfully.
A Spirit Airlines flight operating from Fort Lauderdale to Boston was repeatedly ordered by air traffic control to "turn 20 degrees right" while flying in the vicinity of Air Force One on Tuesday, according to audio released of the interaction.
The recording and reports show controllers issuing the same directional command several times, at one point saying, "Spirit wings 1300 turn 20 degrees right immediately," after earlier attempts to relay the instruction. Spirit Airlines identified the flight as Spirit Airlines flight 1300 (FLL-BOS) and said it followed procedures and air-traffic instructions while en route to Boston.
A Spirit spokesperson said the flight "landed uneventfully at BOS" and reiterated that "safety is always our top priority." Fox News Digital reported that the airline issued the statement in response to questions about the ATC exchange.
The interaction occurred while President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump were traveling to the United Kingdom aboard Air Force One. The presidential aircraft landed at London Stansted Airport as part of a state visit, and the White House had not issued a public comment on the air-traffic recording when contacted.
Air traffic controllers routinely issue heading and altitude changes to maintain safe separation between aircraft. Commands to alter course are standard procedure when a civilian aircraft is in close proximity to a VIP flight such as Air Force One, aviation experts say. In this case, the repeated nature of the instruction in the audio underscores the controller's effort to quickly establish the required separation.
There were no reports of a near miss, loss of separation, or any in-flight emergency linked to the encounter, and the Spirit flight completed its scheduled itinerary without incident. Neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the White House reported an investigation or safety finding publicly as of Wednesday morning.
Fox News Digital sought comment from the White House. The airline statement and the ATC audio stand as the principal public records of the event, and authorities typically review such occurrences to determine whether further action or guidance is warranted. No additional official statements were released by Spirit or federal aviation authorities regarding disciplinary or procedural changes related to the exchange.