Thousands of high rollers will descend into the Phoenix area for the Super Bowl next month, and the airports in the area are prepping for the extraordinary demand from private planes.
The NFL’s hottest ticket of the year attracts a plethora of VIPs, from high-profile executives to celebrities, who can afford the convenience of arriving in the host city as quickly and efficiently as possible, and with style. Phoenix’s Super Bowl preparations include making way for the swankiest of aircraft, from jumbo jets to more luxurious Gulfstreams, some of which feature gold trim, marble countertops, leather couches and high-definition TVs.
“It’s just a whole different high-end experience,” Flying Yacht Company CEO Michaela Renee Johnson said in an interview. “It’s like getting into your limousine as opposed to stepping on a bus.”
However, the dignitaries won’t glide in and out without some turbulence. Aviation experts say the combination of heavy air traffic and the area’s busy airspace may make it more difficult to accommodate the scheduling demand for private and business jets. To top it off, the region is also hosting the WM Phoenix Open in nearby Scottsdale that same weekend, which will further complicate prior permission required (PPR) procedures at the airfields and create more congestion overall.
“The more people who are going [to the Super Bowl] makes it more difficult to get the departure time and arrival time that you want,” Adam Steiger, president of Air Charter Advisors, said in an interview. “This is generally what happens for major sporting events, specifically the Super Bowl. It becomes a tremendous problem.”
The last-minute scheduling demand also plays a huge factor. Some of the big spenders and company representatives plan to attend regardless of who is participating, allowing them to book their travel itinerary in advance. But many don’t firmly reserve a spot until they know which two teams are playing, contributing to a new wave of reservations handled by third-party fixed-based operators (FBOs) in conjunction with the FAA.
Sean McGeough, vice president of commercial at Airbus Corporate Jets North America, said on average there’s a 272% increase in departures for the Sunday and Monday of Super Bowl weekend compared to the weekends before and after. The championship weekend surge is an eye-catching swing.
“The Waste Management [Phoenix Open] is very popular, and you have all the golfers there that fly privately,” McGeough said in an interview. “And you couple that with the Super Bowl, and it’s going to be super busy airspace, with a lot of private jets converging on one space.”
The FAA said in a statement that it expects more than 4,000 additional takeoffs and landings and nearly 1,100 additional aircraft parked at Phoenix-area airports during Super Bowl week.
Glendale Municipal Airport (GEU), Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, Phoenix Deer Valley, Scottsdale, Mesa Gateway and Phoenix Goodyear Airport will be utilized for private travel that week.
All are within 60 miles of each other, and pilots will depend on the coordination between FAA’s subordinate agencies and traffic controllers for direction on landing times, altitude climbs and all the nuances that come with navigating the complicated airspace.
The airports closest to the stadium, such as GEU, are expected to be most difficult for customers to secure an assigned slot, a designated time for an aircraft to get in and out of the airfield.
Additionally, since parking is limited, plans are already in place at GEU to relocate planes to atypical parts of the airport if necessary. There’s also the maneuvering of planes to other nearby airports overnight, which can add thousands of more dollars in landing, ramp and hangar fees for customers. These private roundtrip excursions to the Super Bowl can range from $40,000 to $100,000 depending on travel time, aircraft and number of passengers.
The strain on the limited number of airports, while adhering to FAA guidelines, could potentially lead to extended holding patterns outside of the airport. Once landed, it can be a challenge to get folks to private terminals and FBOs while sorting out so much ground traffic in short intervals.
“This is incredibly important to the city and the airport, which is why we’re spending our effort and resources to make sure everybody that comes in can do so safely and efficiently,” Glendale Airport administrator Matthew Smith said. “My primary concern in life is to make sure Super Bowl visitors have a great experience at Glendale. That’s all I care about right now.”
Smith says his staff expects about 150 to 200 corporate aircraft that week and will receive help from its two FBOs, who, like others, are hiring additional staff to accommodate the demand. He’s confident the city-owned airport has adequate resources, including a sophisticated ramp reservation system created by the FAA and the NFL, to avoid hiccups and keep things organized.
Three hundred miles west, the NFL planning team is using a beta version of this reservation system at select airports in Las Vegas, which will play host to next year’s Super Bowl at Allegiant Stadium. A portion of private travelers who are attending the big game have opted to travel to the Phoenix area via Sin City to avoid potential delays.
Special procedures, including Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFR) and a No Drone Zone, will limit flights around State Farm Stadium before, during and after the game, according to the FAA.
Local airports and the private sector are hoping the TFR will ease preparations for the bevy of departure flights later that evening and the following Monday.
While this is expected to be the busiest private air traffic weekend for local airports in years, the Phoenix area is well respected in the aviation industry. It’s home to numerous flight training centers, including JetBlue Gateways in Mesa, and has a strong military presence.
Scottsdale Airport aviation planning and outreach coordinator Sarah Ferrara says her staff is building on what it learned from 2015 when Phoenix last hosted the Super Bowl. The corporate jet-focused public airport is expecting to have more than 1,000 flights overall during the Super Bowl weekend.
“We’re expecting this to be the busiest time that Scottsdale Airport has ever experienced,” Ferrara said.
A collection of airports has made upgrades and renovations to their facilities ahead of the state’s fourth time hosting the big game. Scottsdale Airport has added a third FBO as part of its overall growth strategy, while the GEU recently rebuilt its taxiway to ease arrival for passengers, including high rollers, some of whom will arrive to a VIP experience inside a GEU private terminal before being scooped by a limousine and whisked away to the game.
Meanwhile, Sky Harbor airport, which will welcome the team jets, has added a new Sky Train to allow commercial passengers to more fluidly go from their terminals to the rental car center. But private travelers will rely on the airport’s two FBOs in Jackson Jet Center and Cutter Aviation for all accommodations and fuel service.
Sky Harbor outreach administrator Heather Shelbrack says the airport had its busiest day ever the Monday following the Super Bowl in 2015, including commercial flights, and is anticipating another potential record-breaking day.
“It’s a lot of work,” Jackson Jet Center CEO Jeff Jackson said in an interview. “I’m not going to dismiss that. But the city has been great for us to work with. There’s always some challenges, but they’ve been very good at communicating. We’re as ready as we can be.”
The Phoenix-area has similarities to previous host cities Los Angeles and Tampa, in that it’s also a larger warm metropolis with surrounding regional airports to absorb the private plane demand. Amid the post-pandemic increase of private sports travel, this year’s edition is expected to be more hectic with the Super Bowl and the PGA Tour tourney clashing at the same time.
“They should be able to handle it,” Steiger added. “They’re just going to be bum rushed.”
