
Passengers traveling through Washington, D.C., on Sunday night reported significant flight delays as military aircraft conducted a high-profile flyover above the White House during UFC Freedom 250. The claim came from journalist Clara Sophia Daly, who posted o
n X that passengers aboard her flight were informed of an unexpected delay because air traffic had been paused while military aircraft conducted an air show at the White House.
Daly is an immigration reporter who has reported for multiple news outlets like Mission Law, Miami Herald and Columbia Journal.
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“Come to find out, the president of the United States has paused ALL flights because of the UFC fight at the White House,” Daly wrote.
According to Daly, passengers aboard a departing flight at Reagan National experienced a delay exceeding two hours. She said neither travelers nor airport personnel appeared to have received advance notice of the disruption.
Daly also described frustration among passengers, including a mother traveling alone with an infant to San Francisco.
She said, “There’s a young mom flying alone from Washington DC to San Francisco with her 8-month-old, and she is worried about the long journey. Wishes she could just depart the plane now.”
She also quoted the pilot as calling the situation "one of the most frustrating things I've experienced in 20 years of aviation."
However, neither the Federal Aviation Administration nor the White House have publicly confirmed that all flights were suspended at the time of publication.
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UFC Freedom 250 opened with a joint flyover by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels and the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.
The flyover marked the end of a weekend of military shows associated with the occasion, which also marked the beginning of the country's 250th anniversary and President Donald Trump's 80th birthday.
According to USA Today, the demonstration teams flew a Super Delta formation above the White House as country singer Zac Brown concluded the national anthem. President Trump saluted from the South Portico while UFC CEO Dana White stood beside him.
In the days preceding the battles, the Golden Knights parachute team, marine drill platoons, and Nitro Circus stunt riders all gave performances.
Shirin Gupta is a content producer with the Hindustan Times. She covers everything between politics, entertainment and sports at the US desk. Shirin got interested in political journalism during her time as a web editor at her college newspaper NCC News in Syracuse when she first started seeing the effects of national politics in life of her fellow colleagues. Shirin has worked on a wide range of fast-moving and developing stories locally when she was at NCC editing accessible reports for the audience. Her current role requires her to track real-time updates, verify information and present balanced coverage across diverse beats. Covering US politics from an international newsroom perspective has further deepened her understanding of how domestic decisions can have far-reaching global consequences. With a keen interest in international affairs, Shirin continues to build her expertise in geopolitics, policy shifts, and cross-border developments. She aims to learn and evolve her reporting in matters of geopolitics and international issues. Outside the newsroom Shirin writes about books and music for her personal blog. She is an avid consumer of pop culture and reveres literature.Read More