Miramar air show at Marine base canceled due to government shutdown

SAN DIEGO -- The air show planned for this weekend at the Miramar Marine Corps Air Station has been canceled, Marine officials announced Thursday.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether the move was tied to the partial shutdown of the federal government that began Tuesday.

[Updated, 8:15 a.m. PDT Oct. 3: Marine officials confirmed later Thursday that the show was canceled as a result of the government shutdown.]

In a message posted on Twitter, Marine officials said they would provide more information about the air show’s cancellation at a news conference this morning.

The show, often billed as the most heavily attended in the nation, had already been undercut by the federal budget restraints known as sequestration. Because of the sequester cuts, no military planes would fly in the two-day show.

The Navy’s famed demonstration team, the Blue Angels, had been set to be the headliners.

All participation in air shows by military aircraft was canceled by the Department of Defense in March, leading to the immediate cancellation of some shows.

But military officials had insisted that the Miramar show would continue with civilian planes and pilots and with “static displays� on the ground of Marine fixed-wing and rotary aircraft. Marines would also be at ready to explain the craft to air show visitors.

The free event has drawn about 500,000 people in previous years.

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