ASHWAUBENON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – As the coronavirus continues to take its toll in the state, many traditional holiday events have been canceled.
But kids in the Green Bay area weren’t about to miss out on seeing Santa.
He flew into Austin Straubel International Airport aboard a helicopter on Sunday.
“There isn’t a lot of direct flights to the north pole,” Green Bay Airport Marketing and Communications Manager Susan Levitte added. “This is pretty special for us to have an option here in Green Bay.”
The event was at the Jet Air hangar.
“We knew there was a lot of places that typically have a Santa visit but didn’t have enough space to make sure that people can separate and spread out; so we thought we have a big heated hangar here,” Levitte said.
“[It’s] kind of nice to not be on top of each other and be able to do something so the kids have some normalcy,” Larissa Cornelius told FOX 11.
“I think it’s a big enough area and everyone’s wearing masks and trying to stay six feet apart, so I think it’s a safe environment,” Heather Novak said.
Inside the hangar, families toured a variety of aircraft.
“Our son loves airplanes [and] helicopters,” Ginnow said.
Kids were able to meet Santa and write him a letter too.
“We’re making sure that those letters get onto the helicopter and go directly to the North Pole,” Levitte promised.
The event was free, organizer just asked families to bring food donations. The canned goods and non-perishable food items collected on Sunday will go to the Oneida Emergency Food Pantry and Paul’s Pantry.
