(OBA®) – Orange Beach, AL – A year after COVID pandemic restrictions led to the cancelation of Orange Beach’s historic inclusion in the Blue Angels Pensacola Beach show, it appears plans were kept in place to include Alabama’s beaches in some of the aerial flyovers during Blues Week.

For the third straight day and the final day of Blues Week, a formation of six buzzed Baldwin County beaches streaking over Perdido Pass at 2:44 p.m., going all the way down West Beach in Gulf Shores before turning back east.

“I was given confirmation and authorization to go ahead and say that they are in fact going to extend their flight plan into Orange Beach,” Chris Litton of the City of Orange Beach told the OBA Community Website in June of 2020. “They said they wouldn’t be doing aerobatics over the city’s beaches but would do flyovers and turnarounds. I told ‘em we wouldn’t hold it against them if they wanted to come over and do some aerobatics.”

Litton reached out to the Blue Angels via email before the 2020 show that was eventually canceled to say flying over Orange Beach would help with the social distancing practices being encouraged at the time and he received confirmation the Blues would extend the range of the show to include Perdido Key and Orange Beach.

With the 2021 show reaching over the state line to Alabama, city of Orange Beach officials are appreciative of the buzz created for residents and visitors when the Blue Angles make appearances.

“The relationship between the City of Orange Beach and the Naval Air Station Pensacola and specifically the Blue Angels is one of being perfect neighbors,” City Administrator Ken Grimes said. “For many years the tourism numbers for the Alabama Gulf Coast have grown and risen with people enjoying a family oriented first class destination resort. The excitement that comes from Orange Beach guests or residents with an occasional fly by from the Blue Angels whether just practicing or coming home from a distant show is always high and memorable. The Blues have become part of our Orange Beach community family we know that people make their travel bookings to our city with hopes or plans to see the Blue Angels fly.”

While there was no official announcement, each of past three days – Thursday July 8 through Saturday July 10 – Blue Angel aircraft made appearances along the coast in Orange Beach in a formation of six with an observation plane trailing. On Thursday a formation of six Blue Angels were joined by an observer plane and Friday, a formation of six Blue Angels buzzed over the coast just before 3 p.m. This is the first year the team is using the newer Super Hornet aircraft.

Visitors and locals alike have become accustomed to looking to the skies after 2:30 p.m. this week in anticipating of the Blues appearance. On Thursday it came at 2:50 and at 2:58 on Friday. The Pensacola Beach show annually in July is the boating highlight of the year for many locals and visitors.

“It’s exciting to feel the connection to our military with the Blue Angels team and to see firsthand the show this year in person was as always a top memory,” Grimes said. “To travel over to Pensacola Beach and feel and experience the power, speed and precision from the beach or by boat is a must do on everyone’s bucket list. These pilots and their crews are the best of the best in the US Navy and Marines and the upgrade to the new Super Hornets did not disappoint. It’s a day of fun every year that builds patriotism in our nation like few other events. The relationship and proximity to NAS Pensacola is a top attractor for Orange Beach.”

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