ORLANDO — Travel delays can make even the most exciting trips a headache for travelers.
At least the delay experienced by the San Diego State basketball team was for a good reason: the president of the United States.
School spokesman Richard Stern said the plane the Aztecs chartered on Tuesday to take them to Orlando for the NCAA tournament was two hours late arriving in San Diego because of disruptions caused by the presence of Air Force One in California.
Airspace and airports are forced to delay flight operations, access to airports is reduced and numerous flights can be diverted or canceled when the president is traveling in the area on Air Force One.
“We left San Diego at 5 [p.m. PT], landed at 12 or 12:30 [ET, Wednesday morning]. Like I said, I wasn’t joking, I was eating chicken wings at 2 a.m. They were good. They tasted really good and we were happy to have them, and we’re happy to be here.”
President Joe Biden visited San Diego earlier this week as part of a West Coast tour. He met with the prime ministers of the United Kingdom and Australia in San Diego on Monday and departed Tuesday morning for Monterey Park, California, to speak at a Boys and Girls Club.