Santa gets green light for Yule flight

WASHINGTON—US aviation authorities have given Santa Claus’ reindeer-powered sleigh the green light to fly on Christmas Eve after a rigorous inspection of the “Santa One” aircraft.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said safety inspectors at the North Pole had given the thumbs-up for Santa’s sleigh to cruise through US airspace and came away impressed with improved technology allowing Saint Nick to avoid other aircraft.

“The satellite-based technology the elves have installed on Santa One will ensure that Santa stays safe and reaches all of his rooftops on time,” US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.

“As a result of this improved technology, Santa will be able to deliver more presents to more children around the world,” he added.

The FAA said Santa One would fly at an altitude of 15,000 meters (50,000 feet)—much higher than commercial aircraft—and elves at an air traffic control tower at the North Pole would keep the sleigh at a safe distance from other aircraft using “Candy Cane Satellite Surveillance-Broadcast.”

US and Canadian air commanders said they were ready to track Santa’s progress on Christmas Eve with their high-tech assets.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command (Norad), which monitors the skies over Canada and the United States, pulls out all the stops every season to locate Saint Nick, using no less than four high-tech systems—radar, satellites, “Santa Cams” and even fighter jets.

Santa travels at mind-boggling speeds, and the Norad said its F-16, F-15 and CF-18 fighter jets had intercepted his sleigh “many, many times,” tipping their wings in a mid-flight greeting.

Starting Saturday, the Norad will renew its traditional tracking effort with a website providing constant updates on Santa’s location during his global journey.

Norad’s Santa tracking tradition dates back to 1955, when a Colorado newspaper advertisement printed a phone number to connect children with the jolly man in the red suit, but that mistakenly directed them to Norad’s hotline.

To avoid disappointing the little ones, Norad’s director of operations at the time, Col. Harry Shoup, ordered his staff to check the radar to see where Santa might be and update the children on his location.

The “Santa Tracker” website, www.noradsanta.org, went live this week and is now available in eight languages—English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese and Chinese.

The site had more than 15 million visitors last year and the Norad also answers calls to 1-877-Hi-NORAD on Santa’s whereabouts.

The call center is manned by more than 1,000 volunteers at Norad’s headquarters in Colorado.

Families can also follow Santa on their smartphones using free apps or on Facebook, Google, YouTube and Twitter.

“You can track Santa’s location in 3-D and see him deliver presents everywhere from the mountain villages of the Swiss Alps to the white sand beaches of Hawaii,” said Bruno Bowdon, Google’s lead “engineering elf.”