Vice President Kamala Harris’ plane lands at Phoenix Sky Harbor
Vice President Kamala Harris arrives at Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix to speak on abortion access on June 24, 2024.
Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a rally in the Phoenix metropolitan area on Friday, August 9, with her newly named running mate, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, as part of a tour of swing states in the 2024 presidential election. Harris is the Democratic Party’s nominee after President Joe Biden dropped out of the race last month.
Arizona is an important stop for presidential and vice presidential candidates because it is a swing state that plays a key role in deciding the outcome. Biden won Arizona in 2020 by fewer than 11,000 votes, his narrowest margin of any state.
Harris’ Republican challenger, former President Donald Trump, has also made Arizona a focus of his campaign. In June, he visited Dream City Church in Phoenix for a rally, his first since being convicted of 34 felony counts in New York. Trump’s vice presidential candidate, Ohio Senator JD Vance, recently held a rally in Glendale and visited the U.S.-Mexico border in Cochise County.
Kamala Harris has already been to Arizona
Harris and Walz are expected to arrive in Phoenix on Thursday, August 8, after campaigning in Michigan. They will hold a rally on Friday, August 9. Where the event will take place was unknown as of late Thursday morning.
While this appearance is Harris’ first visit to Arizona as a presidential candidate, it will be her eighth visit to the Grand Canyon State since early 2023.
When Harris came to Phoenix in June to speak about abortion access — coinciding with the second anniversary of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade — she landed at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport on Air Force Two.
Where does Air Force One land and take off at Phoenix Airport?
Many former presidents, including Trump, Barack Obama and George W. Bush, landed and took off from Phoenix airport on Air Force One.
When the President lands at or departs from Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport, passengers don’t notice much difference when they arrive or depart from the airport.
As long as their departure times do not coincide with the arrival and departure times of the President.
Air Force One does not use Sky Harbor’s public terminals, airport spokeswoman Tamra Ingersoll said. The plane parks away from the terminals and the president disembarks via a staircase that leads to the waiting presidential motorcade, she said.
During a presidential visit, passengers would not notice any difference in terminal operations, but there could be delays if their flight takes off or lands at the same time as Air Force One arrives or departs, she said.
“We don’t usually see any significant impacts or flight delays in this context,” Ingersoll said.
Where does Air Force Two land and take off at Phoenix Airport?
Air Force Two, the vice president’s plane, also lands and takes off outside public terminals, Sky Harbor spokesman Eric Everts said.
Will roads near the airport be closed?
No, but the police can stop traffic as the motorcade passes through.
What tips does Sky Harbor offer passengers for presidential visits?
Ingersoll said passengers and people picking up family or friends should plan for the president or vice president’s visit just like any other busy time at the airport:
- Please allow extra time for your journey to the airport.
- Check the status of your flight on skyharbor.com and/or with the airline.
- To avoid traffic congestion around the airport, use the PHX Sky Train stations at 44th Street and 24th Street to pick up and drop off passengers. Passengers can use the free Sky Train to travel between the stations and the terminals.
