Nothing says "reassuring" and "soothing" to New Yorkers quite like low-flying commercial airplanes, which is why JetBlue is sending three Airbus A320s to circle the city for an hour on Thursday night, beginning at 7 p.m. "JetBlue's mission of inspiring humanity is stronger now more than ever," said the airline's president and chief operating officer Joanna Geraghty, failing to mention JetBlue's apparently duel mission of re-traumatizing first responders and burning about 9,000 pounds of fossil fuel for no good reason.
The "flyover salute" will travel through all five of New York's boroughs, including along the tip of Manhattan, near Ground Zero. The planes will reportedly fly at an altitude of 2,000 feet, which is only about 200 feet higher than the top of the city's tallest building, One World Trade Center.
Incredibly, this is not the first time someone has sought to honor first responders and essential workers by flying airplanes low over the Big Apple. The Thunderbirds and U.S. Navy's Blue Angels similarly buzzed over New York last week to pay tribute to those risking their lives during the pandemic.
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In addition to their ill-advised spectacle, JetBlue also seemed to miss the irony of how an aerial show could lead to people congregating in the streets to watch, thereby violating proper social-distancing measures. Because at this point it is not abundantly obvious, the tails of the planes will be decorated with New York themes, including one insisting I ♥ NY.
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