June 27, 2024

Please, just let us know when the jets will fly overhead

Montréal needs a better heads up when the jets fly low

If you were in Montréal last Thursday afternoon, you might have heard the booming roar of something in the sky.

It starts as a low rumble, then quickly gets louder, louder, and then WHOOSH! Then in the distance you hear an Anglo in the street yelling, "What the hell was that?!"  

 

Last Thursday, it was a pair of CF-18 fighter jets to celebrate the home opener of the Alouettes. Super cool! I love jet flyovers... when I know that they're going to happen.

Then on Tuesday afternoon, it happened again! This time, it was the Italian Air Force flying over downtown.

In both of these instances, did you know it was going to happen?

Emailing the Alouettes

On June 12th, I emailed the Montréal Alouettes communications team to ask if they planned on doing a jet flyover. This has happened a few years in a row, and each time the people of the city seem unprepared for it. I figured if I could find out in advance, I could use my platform to warn people, as well as get them excited for it (again, I love jet flyovers when I know they're coming).

Email to Montréal Alouettes

I didn't get a reply from the comms team.

Understandable. They probably have a bunch of emails to answer. Maybe on social media?

I'm not going to fault the Alouettes for not trying. Getting the word out on a thing is hard! (just ask me about the solar eclipse). But I tried to get info on this, and I wasn't able to know in advance. And I don't think I should have to follow a team on social media or read their blog to know jets are going to fly over the city.

I posted on social media about the flyover and got over a dozen messages saying people had no idea what was going on.

Then came the Italians

This one came out of nowhere. From Rosemont we heard a low rumble, but I assumed it was a large passenger jet taking off from YUL. It couldn't be another jet flyby, could it?  

Narrator: "It was."

For this one, there was no yearly precedent for a flyover (as far as I know). I guess I'm supposed to follow the Italian Consulate of Montréal on Facebook? That's my bad...

We need a better warning system

Again, I love jet flyovers, and I think it can be an inspiring way to get kids interested in aviation and engineering.

But I completely understand why some people hate them altogether. Some people just hate the loud noise, others dislike displays of military might, and some people have legit shell shock.

Here in Montréal, we should be proud that we welcome refugees from war-torn regions. But not telling them in advance that war gear will be doing a low flyover pass is not something to be proud of.

My suggestion

Here's a few things that organizations who are planning a flyover should do. I haven't though about this too thoroughly, so consider this a first draft of ideas:

Make a dedicated social media post

At least a week in advance, make a post with just the info about the flyover. Include:

  • the date and time of when it's going to happen
  • a map showing the predicted flight path over the city
  • how many jets you expect to be in formation

Tell the city, and the city tells us

I assume you need permission to do a jet flyover of a city? Right?

If so, the city of Montréal should also make a dedicated post with the info listed above.

Share/tag with local social media accounts

Ugh, the state of media consumption. Ideally you could send a press release to CBC, CTV, Montréal Gazette, etc... and the info would be wide spread.

Canadian legislation aside, folks are likely going to hear your message through large local social media accounts like fucknomtl. Learn which accounts have a big impact in the city and get them to share it as a kind of public service announcement.

Basically... we shouldn't have to closely follow a sports team, a consulate, or an obscure private Facebook group to know when these are going to happen.

Just... do a better job of letting us know

Again, I understand the difficulty in getting the word out on an event. It's not easy.

Reading this Reddit post on the flyby, even after a decade of doing the Alouettes home opener, many (most?) have no idea they're going to happen. That's an issue.

You're also going to get people who are gonna react negatively to the Alouettes organization, the Royal Canadian Air Force, etc...

Imagine the moment differently: you've gotten the word out far in advance. It's shared all over social media. And some new people now know about your football game or your consulate.

At 6:00 PM, people are standing outside awaiting the roar. They're excited for the flyby. And as the moment happens, they're glad to be a part of it.

Compare that to now, where we have an Anglo yelling in the distance, "What the hell was that?!"