NORAD

Santa has a ticket to fly

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North Pole ice santa

Wondering if Santa is going to make it to your house this week?

For the 61st year, the folks at the North American Aerospace Defense Command have the NORAD Tracks Santa website (and apps) ready to keep an eye on Santa as he flies around the world.

Right now the website has a holiday countdown, games, activities, holiday songs and tidbits about Santa, his elves, and the reindeer in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese.

At 2:01 a.m. EST on Dec. 24 you can go to the NORAD website to see Santa get ready for his flight.

Then NORAD’s “Santa Cams” will have videos of Santa flying around the world.

If you’re concerned about exactly where the jolly fellow is and exactly when he’ll be in your town, at 6 a.m. EST, you can start calling a NORAD tracker and ask (1-877-Hi-NORAD (1-877-446-6723) or send an email to noradtrackssanta@outlook.com.

Cortana will also be able to tell you Santa’s location and OnStar subscribers can press the OnStar button in their vehicles to locate Santa.

https://youtu.be/0kG1NskQMZM

Now it’s all about Santa’s trip

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SANTA fruit label

Now that all that turkey business is over with, it’s time to start watching the skies for Santa.

NORAD – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – is already on the job with its NORAD Tracks Santa website, which has a holiday countdown, games, activities, Santa data and more in eight languages: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Chinese.

Leaving no Santa-tracking stone unturned, NORAD is also tracking Santa with apps in the Windows, Apple and Google Play stores, on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and Google+.

Why does NORAD track Santa?

The story goes that in 1955 a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement misprinted the telephone number for children to call Santa. The phone number put kids through to the desk of the Continental Air Defense Command (NORAD’s predecessor) Commander-in-Chief instead and that man, Colonel Harry Shoup, played along and gave kids updates on Santa’s progress.

A tradition was born and now, using the internet and a team of volunteer elves, the whole world can check on Santa via NORAD’s satellites and Santa cams.

NORAD isn’t the only organization tracking Santa this season. Finnair, which claims to be the official airline of Santa Claus since 1983, has two of its Airbus 321 Sharklet aircraft flying with Christmas livery.

Official airline of Santa Claus_edited

The airline also is also sharing this “secret of Christmas” video.

NORAD is tracking Santa. Are you?

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Throughout the year NORAD , the North American Aerospace Defense Command, busies itself with monitoring the skies for airplanes, missiles, space launches and other things that fly in the skies.

But on Christmas, NORAD focuses on scanning the skies for Santa as he travels in his sleigh around the world. There’s even a Santa Tracker so we can follow along.

From years of tracking Santa, NORAD has learned a few things:

While it can’t predict when Santa will arrive at a certain house, NORAD does know that “he arrives only when children are asleep.”

NORAD also knows Santa’s preferred flying route:

“Santa usually starts at the International Date Line in the Pacific Ocean and travels west. So, historically, Santa visits the South Pacific first, then New Zealand and Australia. After that, he shoots up to Japan, over to Asia, across to Africa, then onto Western Europe, Canada, the United States, Mexico and Central and South America. Keep in mind, Santa’s route can be affected by weather, so it’s really unpredictable. NORAD coordinates with Santa’s Elf Launch Staff to confirm his launch time, but from that point on, Santa calls the shots. We just track him!”

NORAD’s Christmas night

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Three airports, twelve hours of flying, one upgrade (on the longest leg; thank-you, Santa), and a ride on the light rail ride and in a taxi is all it took to get home to Seattle on Christmas Day from Maryland. Planes were full and there were plenty of families with babies and toddlers in tow; no doubt on their way home from grandparents’ houses.

I bet – like me – some of those families turned to NORAD on Christmas Eve to find out when Santa was heading their way. NORAD – the North American Aerospace Defense Command – not only tracked where Santa was, how many presents he had delivered and, according to this AP story, answered more than 111,000 phone calls, the agency also shared Santa-cam videos of the big guy in action.

http://youtu.be/fDj_IAaerdY

 

 

Tidbits for travelers: more holiday events at airports & in the skies

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If you’re heading to Toronto Pearson International Airport, you have one more day to take advantage of their “tweet-a-carol” program.

Anyone with family or friends traveling on a flight within Canada though December 24 can send a tweet to @torontopearson with the passengers’ first name and flight number and airport carolers will greet them with a holiday song on arrival.

At Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, travelers might be able to spot Santa Claus through December 26 and encounter the white Wish Fairies, the Xmas Skate Girls and other performers.

And through the end of January, 2012, Jan Dellaertplein, the square in front of the terminal, remains transformed into a winter wonderland complete with an ice-skating rink and complimentary skate rentals.

And, of course, NORAD , the U.S.-Canadian military organization that spends the rest of the year focused on the aerospace and maritime defense of the United States and Canada, is using a wide variety of sophisticated methods to track Santa’s progress around the world.

Here’s a tracking map to see where Santa is now:

Have a great holiday!

Santa’s flight successful

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Spokane Airport TSA

Although all elves must undergo enhanced pat-downs at airports, the NORAD Santa Tracker is reporting that Santa has been able to fly around the world with a sleigh full of wrapped packages without being hassled.

Whether or not you believe in Santa, NORAD’s Santa-tracking story is a sweet one. It dates back to 1955, when NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command) was CONAD, the Continental Air Defense Command

According to the NORAD website:

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD  Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

NORAD’s website has an audio clip of Shoup describing that first call.

Tidbits for travelers: Santa Claus vs. the Luggage Fairy

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NORAD has been reporting the goings-on at the North Pole as Santa gets ready to make his rounds and today reported that “the special navigation panel aboard Santa’s sleigh is functioning as planned.”

That’s good news, because today Denver International Airport reported that it’s 50 millionth passenger was Santa Claus, who arrived on Great Lakes flight #1225.

DEN SANTA

DEN airport officials said “Mr. Claus was presented with a check for $3,500 – a donation made on his behalf to the Toys for Tots Foundation – and a blue “50 millionth passenger” sash.

If you don’t get to see Santa at an airport near you, perhaps you’ll encounter the Luggage Fairy – who may or may not look like one of the images below –

Briggs & Riley has gotten together with the Luggage Fairy, who has promised to pick up the checked bag fee for a few  travelers who visit the company’s Facebook page and enter a holiday contest.

Here’s the deal:

Each day from December 21 through 23, visit the Briggs & Riley Facebook page to find the Luggage Fairy’s hint about her season’s picks for the best checked bags. Post your answer and get a chance to win a $25 gift card to pay for your next checked bag.

Good luck!

Will Santa get stuck at the airport?

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It’s been a bad week for air travel and I’m sure everyone who’s been very, very good this year is worried that Santa will get stuck at the airport along with all those other folks who’s flights have been canceled.

Your friends and family may not be able to get a flight in time for Christmas, but Santa should be OK.  At least that’s the message the folks at NORAD and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport are putting out there.

NORAD says today is your last chance to send an email to Santa because Santa and the elves will be too busy tomorrow packing for their big Christmas eve trip.  The DFW Santa Tracker is offering some entertaining fun ‘n games and links to seasonal sites offering recipes, more games, music and other activities.

santa-fruit-label

You better watch out for Santa… and Anubis

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While the folks at NORAD are busy tracking the whereabouts of a roly-poly guy named Santa, folks heading to the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport should be on the lookout for a ten-ton, 26-foot-tall statue of Anubis, the ancient god of mummification and the dead.

Airport officials say the statue, complete with a giant candy cane staff, is due to arrive on Friday at the airport’s Founders’ Plaza. It’s role? To amuse holiday travelers and promote the current Tutankhamun exhibit at the Dallas Museum of Art. (Tip: check the museum’s Web site to get $10 off the hefty exhibit ticket price; good only on New Year’s Day.)

Can’t wait to see the statue on-site!