St. Cloud Airport Prepared for Arrival of Air Force Two
ST. CLOUD (WJON News) -- It's not every day at Air Force Two flies into town. Officials with the St. Cloud Regional Airport have been working hard to get ready for Vice President Kamala Harris' stop in St. Cloud.
Director Bill Towle says he was notified about the visit on Saturday and since then he's been coordinating with several agencies including Secret Service, the military, St. Cloud Aviation, police, fire, and the State Patrol.
She has some of her armored vehicles shipped here. We made sure that we have all of the other appropriate equipment like air stairs, and de-icers, trying to think of everything that we might run into while she's here.
Towle says the airport is open Thursday, and the Allegiant flight that is scheduled to land this afternoon is still on schedule. However, some areas will have limited access and a Temporary Flight Restriction will be in place while Air Force Two lands.
And while it's on the ground here. While she's here there is that TFR that's put in place to make sure no aircraft get within a certain distance of it. And while she's on the ground there's an absolute freeze with no movement at all on the airfield.
Towle was also the airport director in 2009 when then Vice President Joe Biden was here and in 2004 when President George W. Bush came to town, so he says he's had a little previous experience coordinating this type of visit.