San Francisco Fleet Week officials are scaling back plans for the October event after the U.S. Navy announced Tuesday that the Blue Angels air show has been canceled.
The Blue Angels precision flight demonstration team canceled all upcoming 2013 shows, including the one in San Francisco from Oct. 10-14, as a result of the federal sequestration cuts that went into effect last month.
Major Gen. Mike Myatt, chairman of the San Francisco Fleet Week Association, said in a statement that Fleet Week events will continue but that the air show has been canceled and that tickets will be refunded within 72 hours.
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Myatt said other Fleet Week activities will still be held, but will be scaled back, including disaster response training.
Christine Falvey, spokeswoman for San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee, said the mayor’s office has reached out to the association in order to understand all of the impacts the changes will have on the city.
“We are going to work very hard to host a great Fleet Week,” Falvey said. “It’s a great opportunity to showcase our emergency preparedness efforts, get people ready for the next earthquake and recognize the contributions of our serving military personnel and our veterans.”
Dan McMenamin, Bay City News
