San Francisco Fleet Week: Blue Angels may not fly due to government shutdown, but show will go on with Canadian pilots

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) — In 2024, more than a million people came to San Francisco to celebrate Fleet Week, with the Blue Angels being the headline of the show.

This year, unless the government shutdown ends soon, there will be no military involvement in the show, that includes the Angels.

MORE: SF Fleet Week US military events, including Blue Angels, may be in jeopardy with government shutdown

Despite that though, there is optimism.

The signature sound of the Blue Angels flying above San Francisco has become a staple in the City by the Bay every October.

“What is fleet week like here at The Buena Vista?” asked ABC7 News Reporter J.R. Stone.

“We always crazy, this is wall-to-wall people and everybody,” replied bartender Joseph Shaw.

Shaw has been serving Irish Coffee’s at The Buena Vista since May of 1976, that’s 49 years. He was here when Fleet Week started in 1981.

“Before the first year, all the pilots of the show they come here, and all the customers they get autograph from them, so they get poster. I love the show, even though I watch so many years, never get sick of watching it,” said Shaw.

But this year, the Angels’ performance sounds are unlikely to happen with a government shutdown. The U.S. Navy issuing a statement that says in part, “If there is no speedy resolution, we’ll be disappointed we aren’t able to attend this year.”

Sad, yes, but Fleet Week organizers say the show will go on.

Video above shows the Patriots Jet Team. In the Right Wing of the Number 6 Jet is pilot Cory Lovell, who we spoke with Wednesday night.

“I think people are going to be excited if we have nice weather and there’s airplanes. Unfortunately, you know, it might not be the Blue Angels, but there’s gonna be jets out there. The Snowbirds fly with 9 jets, the Patriots got 6 jets, so there’ll be smoke and jet noise and excitement out there,” said Lovell.

Yes, the Canadian Snowbirds and the Patriots aren’t quite as loud as the Blue Angels, but not everyone like that anyway.

And while the Patriots aren’t associated with the military, two of their pilots are former Blue Angels pilots, and two are former Air Force Thunderbird pilots. They don’t fly their planes 18 inches apart from one another like the Blue Angels, but their 3-4 feet apart is still pretty close.

Our friend Joseph is hopeful.

“I hope they work it out, but I don’t know. If not, we are gonna disappoint a lot of people,” he said.