MIRAMAR, Calif. (KGTV) – The Miramar Air Show stuck the landing as thousands of spectators walked the flight line on the final day of the 2022 show.
“It’s a big hit. I mean everybody’s been waiting for it,” Brin Lofton said.
“It feel like it’s brand new,” Jeneane Tolen said.
“It’s been really wonderful,” Col. Marty Bedell, Commanding Officer of MCAS Miramar, said.
While Bedell’s flown in an air show before, he told ABC 10News he hasn’t been a part of a show from this position.
“We’ve got over a thousand security personnel. We’ve got a whole bunch of people who are participating in the air show to make sure that it’s safe. There’s a lot that goes into providing for 150,000 people,” Bedell said. “But we front loaded it. We did all of the prep that we needed to do, and execution has been real smooth so far.”
It’s been smooth skies for the first air show since 2019. But that doesn’t mean the Colonel doesn’t want to improve the experience for people next year.
“To all of the folks who came who had to sit in traffic and had to wait a little bit to get a board and who had to wait a little bit to get on the flight line, we’re going to try to figure out how to tighten that up,” Bedell said.
As the rush of feeling the roar of fighter jets comes to an end, people think having the air show back will create a desire for more to attend next year.
“Especially coming out of COVID and having everything shut down for such a long time, I think that’s how the nation feels in general,” Elliot Gaddid said.
“Not having this and then having it again, it’s something that people do annually. So, I know that something we wanted to do for our family,” Tolen said.
That’s the hope for Bedell and those at MCAS Miramar for 2023.
“I want everybody who came, who had a good experience to tell your friends and family and bring them next year,” Bedell said.
Colonel Bedell told ABC 10News that they hope to expand the technology and innovation expo that was at the air show this year for next given the success they saw with it.
