There’s a new casualty of COVID-19: the popular Atlantic City Airshow.

The annual show, Thunder over the Boardwalk, fell victim to social distancing restrictions; it has drawn up to 500,000 spectators to the beach. The show is sponsored by the Greater Atlantic City Chamber and their president, Michael Chait, told the Press of Atlantic City the risk is just too great. He goes on to say “the priority of our organization and of our many partners is public health and safety surrounding an event of this size. We are sorry to disappoint the thousands of participants who look forward to attending this family-friendly event each year and look forward to an even bigger and better event in 2021.”

The show had been scheduled for August 26th. The show typically is a mix of civilian and military aircraft; some of the performers who were scheduled this year include the USAF Thunderbirds, the Army Golden Knights, and Royal Air Force Red Arrows. The civilian performers are scheduled year to year, but the military displays book a couple of years in advance, so the Chamber is pointing out that the Thunderbirds are already confirmed for next year’s show, which is scheduled for August 18, 2021.

The Chamber describes the airshow (Salute to Service) as the largest midweek airshow in the country and one of the largest events hosted in New Jersey. The show is typically viewed from the beach, the boardwalk, hotel rooms, on the water and via premium seating plans.

Given how popular the flyovers we had throughout the state this Spring were, I imagine this year’s airshow would have been huge, but the Chamber didn’t want to risk all those out of towners (and locals) congregating in AC and spreading the virus.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.

Blue Angels fly over New Jersey

More From New Jersey 101.5 FM