After last year's cancellation, preps for Atlantic City Airshow are underway

ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey (WPVI) -- Preparations are underway for the 2021 Atlantic City Airshow on Wednesday. The event is back this year after it was cancelled in 2020 due to COVID-19 restrictions.

On Tuesday, a rehearsal was held as required by the FAA and the United States Department of Defense.

"A local told me to come to practice day because there's fewer crowds but same lineup," said Ed Hermann of Medford.

"I just love watching the jets fly. The aerobatics, it's really a lot of fun," said Kurt Van der Gaag of Doylestown.

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On Wednesday, hundreds of thousands of people are expected to pour onto Atlantic City's beaches and boardwalk.

"Everybody can vouch, their business goes up significantly during the airshow," said Hassam Kaleem, whose family owns American Fashion and several other stores on the boardwalk. "Compared to last year around this time, there was nothing."

"It was extremely different for the air show community. I had 37 venues that were scheduled, and we did five," said air show Producer and Coordinator David Schultz, of David Schultz Air Shows.

Schultz helps with air shows all over the country and is excited to be back.

"With the vaccine, social distancing, and masks, things like that, we're able to now mitigate a lot better than we did last year. So, things have opened up," said Schultz.

While some VIP areas require reserved tickets, the air show is free to watch from the beach or boardwalk.

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Because the show is in the open air, most people Action News spoke with didn't have any COVID-related concerns.

"The winds always blowing, you're not enclosed in an area," said Thomas Schureman of Riverside. "You have a constant breeze. It's cool here."

Schureman added the fact that he's vaccinated also puts him at ease.

But for some, the perks of coming to practice day include a smaller crowd, allowing for social distancing.

"I don't want to be around too many crowds. So this was perfect," said Vivian Tucci of Linwood. "We could be far away from everybody and it was great."

Organizers suggest arriving early on Wednesday to get a parking spot and a space on the beach. The show is scheduled to start at 11:30 a.m.