MSSG Amigo Airsho explains events leading to cancellation

UPDATE: Chairman of the Amigo Airsho executive board, Alan Russell, was joined by other members of the board to explain the events leading to the cancellation of the MountainStar Sports Group 2025 Amigo Airsho.

The event was canceled a day after most of the vendors, performers and volunteers set up at Fort Bliss Biggs Army Airfield.

"All the set up continued, the chalets, the shades, the tents, the suppliers, the vendors, everybody that was going to be involved in an event which was going to have about 35,000 people a day, was formulated and in place," said Russell.

The board chairman explained that thousands of volunteers with the four permanent paid staff of the organization were ready for the practice show on Friday where members of the FAA, performers and volunteers discuss safety and other coordination waited for a final determination from Washington D.C.

"We needed to get permission from higher up to make sure that we were cleared to do so, but we were encouraged because we didn't need the military pilots to have a show and it was full throttle the show goes on no matter what," Russell added.

The Amigo Airsho is the only civilian air show on a military facility in the world and the organizers say this put them in a different category in light of the government shutdown.

They were aware that when the shutdown began it would mean losing any military support from an aviation standpoint. Russell stressed the unique focus of the event.

"We all know El Paso is Fort Bliss, Fort Bliss is El Paso. And over the years there has been a separation of our communities because of global events and difficulty with the coordination of the military's deployment," explained Russell. "The airsho has been a bridge to bring that back together."

The board said that even though it is a unified effort by design, the federal government's mandate that engagement with the community is not on their agenda during a shutdown, "they are to pull back all civilian engagement and conduct themselves strictly as a military entity" which led to the cancellation.

The event was expected to bring in about 35,000 people a day.

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) - The MountainStar Sports Group Amigo Airsho leaders will address the cancellation of the event due to the government shutdown.

They are expected to address the options for current ticket holders who had planned to attend this morning's shows at Biggs Army Airfield.