MONTGOMERY — The New York Airshow 2020 was received as a success, despite COVID-19 restrictions. The show ran at the Orange County Airport Friday and Sunday for the first time away from Stewart International Airport in many years. The show was canceled on Saturday due to weather conditions, but still hosted thousands of spectators.
There was a new procedure employed to promote social distancing, ticket sales were deliberately restricted and spectators were confined to a designated parking area, rather than be able to move around, viewing static displays and stopping at vendors throughout the area as shows in the past have had.
The new protocols could not be helped and were delivered by the state at short notice. Orange County Commissioner of Emergency Services Brendan Casey explained the new changes.
“We had short notice on that and we laid down over 50 miles of white striping to designate these parking areas that people could stay in. You were allowed to have six people in a car and then once you parked, you had to stay in that designated area,” said Casey. He added, “We had a great show, perfect day and I think we pulled it off successfully.”
Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus echoed Casey’s declaration of success. Neuhaus said they were one of only two other airshows that displayed live acts and he believes the way they facilitated the event will become a template for other large events across the state.
“I think what we proved today is that this is going to be a trendsetter for other events throughout the state and maybe the country,” said Neuhaus. “People want to do things and what happened here is people got together, stayed by their families in their cars, social distanced- I think it’s going to be a great success story that they’re going to copy in other events,” he said.
There hasn’t been an exact tally yet as to how many people attended, but it is assumed they met the capacity planned for.
