Spirit Airlines pilot scolded after straying too close to Trump’s Air Force One

Published September 17, 2025 9:38pm ET



A Spirit Airlines pilot received a stern reprimand from an air traffic controller Tuesday morning after the commercial flight came within several miles of Air Force One, which was transporting President Donald Trump over New York en route to the United Kingdom.

According to live air traffic control audio shared on LiveATC.net, Spirit Flight 1300, traveling from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Boston, was instructed multiple times to alter its course after drifting within 8 miles of the president’s aircraft.

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