Nancy Pelosi’s jet became the world’s most tracked plane, as reported by flight tracking service Flightradar24. More than 700,000 people tracked Pelosi’s flight SPAR 19 on Tuesday, as she was en route to Taiwan.
Media footage showed the democrat getting off the plane in Taipei, Taiwan on Tuesday night. The House of Representatives speaker is heading a congressional delegation to the Indo-Pacific region. Her visit has become a controversial issue.
“As soon as the flight became active [on Tuesday], it was the most-tracked flight on our service,” Ian Petchenik, Flightradar24’s director of communications, reported to MarketWatch. “And then passing Manila [capital of the Phillippines], it became the most-tracked live flight of all time.”
“This is as busy as it gets,” he added, referring to the hundreds of thousands of people tracking the flight.
Why is Pelosi’s jet the world’s most tracked plane?
Speculation about Pelosi’s visit to the island had caused a stir for a week. China had threatened with retaliation, warning that its military would “not sit idly” if the visit takes place.
The speaker’s visit to Taiwan comes at a time of rising tension between the US and China. It will make matters worse in East Asia. Pelosi is third in line for the presidency after President Biden and vice-president Kamala Harris.
This is the reason why a lot of people were awaiting her visit and keeping a track of her jet.
“The U.S. and Taiwan have colluded to make provocations first, and China has only been compelled to act out of self-defense,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying told reporters Tuesday in Beijing.
However, Pelosi’s office has not made any comment regarding her visit.
On Monday, the US military transported ships and planes closer to Taiwan, which made the rumours of Pelosi’s visit firmer.
There was no mention of Taiwan in her Asia tour announcement. Her office only announced that she will visit South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan for her Asia tour.
Impact on Flightradar24 tracking service
Unprecedented interest in the speaker’s flight resulted in a server load of global flight tracking service Flightradar24.
Due to the Pelosi jet becoming the world’s most tracked plane, the service provider faced a lot of issues. They had to appoint their waiting room system to maintain capacity for additional flights.