Lessons learned from ‘Wings Over Meridian’

By Capt. Russell Knight

April 23, 2008 01:01 am

— This year’s “Wings Over Meridian” air show was a resounding success, attracting what has been estimated at close to 100,000 aviation enthusiasts. We have received hundreds of complimentary and glowing comments from those who attended Saturday and from those who attended Sunday. Some folks couldn’t get enough and attended both days; it was that great an event! I could not agree more. From all accounts, given we only had three months to plan such a monumental event, everyone who had a part in the planning, organization and execution did a fantastic job, and I am extremely proud of each and every one of them. We owe a great deal of gratitude to the sponsors, and especially the communities of Meridian and Lauderdale County, for without them this event would not have been such an incredible success, and for that I would like to personally thank each and every one. This was an extraordinary team effort of epic proportions.
As with any event of this magnitude, we have many lessons learned. Sunday’s unexpectedly high turnout unfortunately resulted in some folks being turned away from the base, many regretfully after waiting hours in traffic. Based on previous air show experience, we could not have forecast such a large turnout on Sunday. In years past, our maximum single day estimate of spectators was less than 35,000. We exceeded this number both days, estimated at over 40,000 on Saturday and over 55,000 on Sunday. Despite our best efforts, Sunday’s crowd exceeded everyone's wildest expectations, and likewise our volume and capacity, which is limited by the roads leading to the facility and hard surface areas available for parking once on base.
It is important to note that unlike major sport complexes and metropolitan areas, NAS Meridian is not designed to bring in the size of the crowd we saw on Sunday. On the contrary, NAS Meridian is a remotely located, secure military training facility, accessible from only two single lane roads, whose normal daily throughput is less than 4,000. Our primary mission is to train men and women to tactically employ high performance aircraft from aircraft carriers. Once every three to four years we have the opportunity to host an air show featuring the U.S. Navy’s Flight Demonstration Team, the Blue Angels. The air show is extremely valuable to both the Navy and the community, as it provides the public free access to visit the installation, showcases the latest and greatest military aircraft, and allows the public to meet and see the best and brightest youth of America in action.
We are capturing the lessons learned from this year’s air show and investigating ways to improve the process for the future. We will explore all possible options to try to reduce the traffic problems some encountered on Sunday. I encourage anyone planning on attending an air show that is free to the public, anywhere in the country, arrive as early as possible to avoid traffic and congestion.
Hosting an event of this magnitude is both an honor and a privilege for NAS Meridian. Equally, it is a great experience for all who attend. We appreciate the tremendous support we received from the media, who did an outstanding job of promoting the show, and who without we would not have the tremendous success we had. We will do everything in our power to learn from this year’s experience to make future events of this magnitude more enjoyable and accessible for all who wish to attend.