Written by Amanda Angulo
The Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and Marine Corps Community Services Miramar decided to cancel the 2021 Miramar Air Show on Thursday, due to COVID-19 concerns. This is now the second year in a row that the Miramar Air show has been canceled due to the pandemic.
The Miramar Air show is the single largest military air show in the world and one of the largest events in San Diego, which results in a big boost to local tourism. With over half a million guests attending the event from all over the world, it helps local hotels, restaurants, and other tourist attractions in San Diego.
However, this year’s show has been canceled by Colonel Charles Dockery, the commanding officer of MCAS Miramar. Col. Dockery made the ultimate decision to cancel the show that was due for some time in the fall and is looking to postpone it to the early months of 2022. Although San Diego is finally going back to normality, Dockery believes “There are still a great many risks involved with gathering on the scale of our air show.”
However, how could that be a justified solution to the air show that is scheduled for four months from now? Schools will be officially open in the state by June 15th, meaning they will be open for the fall. Universities in California are beginning to make further plans to safely reopen campuses for in-person learning for the fall semester. Restaurants and businesses are beginning to reopen in San Diego.
A fully outdoor event could be a relatively easy and safe way to have an event for a large number of spectators, especially if larger schools and businesses will be open by then. In addition, if COVID-19 remains a concern, opening an event to a limited capacity could be another solution and even a better one than to suspend another consecutive year of the Miramar Air Show.
