Public Safety

During the Balloon Fiesta, you may see uniformed members of the AIBF Public Safety team, who help provide security and communications capability. These members help to provide initial response to any incident for crowd control and/or requests for accredited law enforcement agencies should the incident warrant. Also, throughout the event, you may see uniformed members of law enforcement, e.g., the APD Mounted Patrol. However, there is also the security you may not see: plainclothes law enforcement officers (federal and local) stationed throughout the event and roaming through the crowds of guests. Albuquerque Fire and Rescue maintains an active fire station on the park during the event providing fast response to any incident involving a fire, rescue or emergency medical response.

All our guests and participants are an important part of our safety team. Your eyes and ears are important. If you see or hear something that causes you concern or need to summon help in an emergency, there are plenty of people to ask, including law enforcement officers, Balloon Fiesta safety officers, and first responders on the field. Also, members of the on-field flight operations staff, including launch directors (Zebras) and safety officers, carry radios and can relay messages through their team leads to medical and law enforcement personnel.

The airspace around Balloon Fiesta Park is strictly controlled, and aircraft of all kinds are required by law to adhere to the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in the Balloon Fiesta’s operations area. To ensure the safety of our guests, the Balloon Fiesta does not allow the operation of non-accredited drones within our airspace. We even employ a company that can detect the operation of any drone within seconds of it being activated, and provide the location of the drone operator so that we can quickly locate the operator and request that they cease operations immediately.

The Balloon Fiesta Board and staff works hard to produce a world-class event that promotes the sport of ballooning, the City of Albuquerque and State of New Mexico. As part of those efforts, we strive to provide a safe environment for our participants and guests. The AIBF Public Safety program has been developed and refined over many years to help ensure that we meet these important objectives.

Harry Season, the 1992 and 1993 Balloonmeister, serves on the Balloon Fiesta Board of Directors and is a member of the Heritage Committee.