President Obama sure appreciates his own vacation time, but that doesn’t mean he gives a hoot about yours.
Barely having returned from a 15-day vacation on Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts, Obama will spend his Labor Day weekend traveling to support his Democratic friends. The problem is, this means that Americans planning to take seaplanes to East Hampton, Montauk, Martha’s Vineyard or Nantucket won’t be able to travel themselves, reports Page Six of the New York Post.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a no-fly warning for much of Friday and all of Saturday for these areas because of Obama’s fundraising schedule. Planes are told not to fly from 2pm to 5:45pm Friday afternoon and between 9:15pm Friday night and 10:30am Sunday morning.
A president of two seaplane companies Melissa Tomkiel explained to the New York Post’s Page Six that the president’s galavanting is “causing major business losses” to her companies Fly the Whale and Tailwind.
“A flight restriction was issued banning operations in the NYC area due to the president’s visit on Friday for practically the whole weekend, causing major business losses and inconvenience for our passengers on the busiest weekend of the year,” said Tomkiel. “It is frustrating. We have had to move at least 10 flights and cancel a number of private charters, costing us thousands of dollars. We count on this weekend to get us through the quieter months of the year. This will create a perfect storm on a holiday Friday, creating air space havoc between New York City and Boston”
Obama will attend a “Labor Day Barbecue” Democratic National Committee fundraiser in Purchase, New York, Friday at the home of Robert Wolf, founder and CEO of 32 Advisors. Each of the 250 individuals attending have purchased tickets at up to $32,000 a pop.
Later, Obama will fly to a Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) event in Newport, Rhode Island, where he will deliver some remarks. Some individuals, like Fox News host Megyn Kelly, have criticized Obama for choosing to fundraise instead of concentrate on the ISIS terror threat in Syria and Iraq.
