'Frivolous, tone deaf, and savagely useless': New Yorkers slam JetBlue's planned flyover around Ground Zero to honor frontline workers

• JetBlue is staging a flyover of three passenger aircraft over New York City on the evening of May 7 to honor essential workers.
• New Yorkers took to social media to decry this decision, saying it could spark memories of the September 11 attacks for residents.
• Others said the flyover will not benefit first responders and healthcare workers.
• The flyover will burn thousands of pounds of fuel at no cost to the airline, and JetBlue said it "thanks its partners at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, JetBlue Air Line Pilots Association, CarbonFund.org and a fuel provider."
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On the evening of May 7, JetBlue will fly three passenger planes above New York City at a low altitude. The flyover is aimed at honoring first responders and healthcare workers.

News of the aircraft display, coming a week after the federal government staged a military flyover over America's largest city, did not please New Yorkers.

Some of the backlash stems from the flyover's path; the planes will depart from John F. Kennedy airport, loop around Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx, then head back down to Manhattan.

The passenger planes will circle the previous site of the World Trade Center, a complex of seven buildings in Lower Manhattan that were destroyed on September 11, 2001. Two Boeing 767s crashed into the two largest towers of the World Trade Center that morning, destroying the buildings and killing 2,763 people.

That terrorist attack still lives in the minds of many New Yorkers, driving some to ask on social media why JetBlue would fly passenger planes around New York City.

Others said the flyover does not actually appear to give substantive help to healthcare workers or first responders. Since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, essential workers have expressed their frustrations with being called "heroes" instead of receiving a pay raise.

On May 6, JetBlue announced it would also donate two round trip flights for 10,000 healthcare workers in New York City.

"JetBlue's mission of inspiring humanity is stronger now more than ever," said JetBlue CEO Joanna Geraghty in a statement. "We applaud the healthcare workers who are helping us get through this challenging time and inspiring humanity along the way."

JetBlue also said in the May 6 statement that the flyover is being done at no cost to the airline, and said it "thanks its partners at the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, JetBlue Air Line Pilots Association, CarbonFund.org and a fuel provider." An Airbus A320, the type of aircraft being used for the flyover, burns about 3,000 pounds of fuel per hour while cruising.

Meanwhile, the company is burning through $10 million a day due to decreased demand for flights.