Santa's flight plan (Credit: British Airways)
Santa’s flight plan (click to enlarge)

Today’s big Christmas-themed news comes from British Airways, which delighted children who read travel blogs everywhere this morning by revealing the details of Santa’s official flight plan. According to the airline, the big man’s North Pole-based team has officially filed the plan with authorities around the world, and preparations are now underway. Check it out above, where both approach and trajectory are laid out.

On the night of his famous ride—tomorrow night—Santa’s movements will be precise and calculated. The key reveal, which cannot be paraphrased, is this:

Santa’s approach
“On approach, the sleigh will descend from 3,000ft to 2,500ft on a track of true North between SANTA and CLAUS. If the visibility remains good and the snow isn’t too heavy then the sleigh will descend on the final stages of its approach from COMNG to TOWNN, but in the event that the weather conditions are not good enough to land then Santa will climb back to an altitude of 2,500ft before turning right at MSLTO. That will inevitably lead to KSSNG where he will linger until the weather improves.”

General safety is a stated priority, and so British Airlines made it clear that it will be ceding the skies to Santa on the big night. Pilots from all 28 BA scheduled Christmas Eve flights will be “cheering him on,” and in fact passengers on all London-bound British Airways flights may even be able to catch a glimpse of His Christmasness. The airline also warned that elves will be on the runway and reindeer games could slow down ground operations, which the flying public should consider as they finalize their travel plans.

As a final show of respect, British Airlines announced that they are presenting Santa with his own Gold Executive Card (#20141225) in recognition of the 317 million-mile journey he will complete in one night.

Santa receives his Gold Executive Club card
Santa receives his Gold Executive Club card

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