PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — The Florida International Airshow will return this year despite potential changes to its lineup due to the federal government shutdown affecting military demonstrations.
WATCH: Fox 4's Eric Lovelace tells us how the show may change if the government doesn't reopen:
Fox 4 spoke with airshow President Denise Dull, who confirmed the event will proceed regardless of what happens in Washington.
"You can't beat it," Dull said about the appeal of airshows. "It's like football, pizza, hotdogs, baseball, fireworks, and Lynyrd Skynyrd all wrapped into one with the American flag on top."
For the first time in two years, the Florida International Airshow is set to take off in just a few weeks. The event typically brings tens of thousands of people from around the world to watch aerial demonstrations.
"Last year's show was gonna be a trial run for us, but we had two big weather events," Dull said with a laugh.
This year's challenge isn't weather-related but political. The airshow had scheduled two military demonstrations, including F-16s and the Blue Angels, but both are now in jeopardy because of the federal government shutdown.
"When you have outside influences that you have no control over, it makes it a little stressful and more difficult," Dull said.
Despite the uncertainty, Dull remains optimistic about the show's prospects.
"We'll have an airshow, but it may not be what we were anticipating," she said.
The airshow is huge for small businesses in the area. Dull said the air show brings in millions of dollars because of visitors and tourism.
“We drive an economic impact when we have a show this size, of over 5 million dollars to the community," Dull said.
The excitement is there for this year's show. Dull shared that all premium ticket passes, beyond general admission, are sold out for both Saturday and Sunday.
The airshow president emphasized that the event will continue regardless of political developments in Washington. Because the government could reopen at any time, the organization is maintaining hope for full military participation.
"Until we're told otherwise we're anticipating we'll have participation from everybody on our roster," Dull said.
As the government shutdown nears the two-week mark, the next vote that could potentially reopen the government is scheduled for Tuesday.
