'Gold standard': Plane spotters in Calgary hope for glimpse of Air Force One at G7

Bill Graveland · The Canadian Press

· Posted: Jun 15, 2025 3:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: 5 hours ago

Airplane enthusiasts are mounting up astatine the Calgary International Airport successful hopes of seeing immoderate breathtaking craft onshore for the commencement of the G7 leaders' acme successful adjacent Kananaskis, Alta.

Corbin Johnson wants to drawback a glimpse of the level carrying U.S. President Donald Trump.

"Air Force One is surely the golden standard, but I deliberation myself and everyone other is precise excited to spot each the different craft are coming," Johnson said Saturday, arsenic helium checked retired a viewing country of the airport.

The spot is besides 1 of 3 designated objection zones that constabulary person acceptable up successful Calgary, with different successful Banff.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is hosting G7 leaders from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Italy, who were expected to get Sunday for the commencement of the three-day acme successful Kananaskis, southwest of Calgary successful the Rocky Mountains.

Some leaders of non-member countries, including Ukraine and India, are besides acceptable to attend.

LISTEN | G7 acme considered Super Bowl of level spotting

Johnson, a camera astir his neck, said helium posts each his level photos connected Instagram.

"My emotion of airplanes, I would accidental started close here, wherever we're standing. My parents would instrumentality maine present to level spot and look astatine each the planes that would travel done here," helium said.

"This is perfectly my fig one hobby. It's thing you tin marque arsenic full-time arsenic you benignant of privation to."

Jaidon Phelps, 20, is an aspiring aviator that works astatine WestJet. He was astatine the viewing country astatine 6 a.m. connected Sunday.

"It's conscionable chill to beryllium portion of what's going connected and spot what craft are coming successful from each of the assorted nations that are participating and astir importantly to spot if we tin get Air Force One," helium said.

"It's conscionable the magnitude of what it is. Something you've ever wanted to see."

The assemblage of level spotters tends to stock intel, with immoderate radical noting aboriginal Sunday that the Japanese delegation was already Canada-bound. There was besides treatment of the champion determination to spot the planes travel in.

Demonstrations expected astatine Calgary airport

Though home aerial postulation continues to travel normally, it's acold from concern arsenic accustomed astatine the Calgary airdrome this weekend.

Several constabulary vehicles were seen driving done the parking batch connected Saturday. A motion connected the runway obstruction topped with barbed ligament warns: "No Drone Zone." Air restrictions implicit the airdrome and Kananaskis Village went into effect Saturday morning.

Police said they person received indications that protesters are expected, and the demonstrations are to beryllium broadcast connected TVs acceptable up for the leaders successful Kananaskis.

RCMP Chief Supt. David Hall said helium conscionable wants the protests to beryllium peaceful.

"We cognize it's important for radical to person their connection seen and heard by the satellite leaders, and it's for this crushed we've established unrecorded feeds," helium said.

"We constabulary behaviours and not beliefs. And truthful I'd conscionable promote everyone to look to behaviour immoderate objection enactment implicit the adjacent fewer days successful a lawful, peaceful and harmless manner."