The reason why a concert by a well-known American rapper was cancelled in the United States last night, could lie in Shannon Airport.
Rapper and record producer Travis Scott was forced to cancel his concert in Chicago after his private jet was left grounded in Ireland.
Scott was due to perform at the at United Center in Chicago on Friday night as part of his ‘Utopia’ World Tour, inspired by his No. 1 album of the same name.
After performing in Detroit on Tuesday night, Scott flew to Saudi Arabia where he headlined the first day of the Soundstorm 2023 music festival. His private jet made a refuelling stop in Shannon on the way to the event.
While it has not been possible to confirm whether the chart topping rapper was on board the flight, his Embraer Lineage 1000 jet arrived in Shannon from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on a refuelling stop at around 1.50pm yesterday (Friday) before it was due to continue onto the U.S. a short time later.
It’s understood however that the crew reported a technical issue with the aircraft which they required to have investigated. As a result, the flight’s departure was delayed.
After the issue had been apparently resolved, the flight departed from Shannon again at around 4.20pm. The estimated 8-hour flight would have seen his jet land in Chicago at around 6.20pm (Chicago Time) less than two hours before his concert was due to being.
Soon the flight departed, using its registration N713TS as its callsign, air traffic controllers asked the crew why they had deviated from their original departure instructions. The crew reported they were given different instructions. Controllers confirmed they would have to make a report on the matter.
About 15 minutes after departure, the crew advised controllers they would have to return to Shannon. It’s understood the crew reported an issue with their FMS (flight management system).
The flight crew confirmed they would have to burn off fuel before landing at Shannon. This was to ensure the aircraft touched down within safe landing weight limits. The jet entered a holding pattern over East Clare for a time before commencing an approach to Shannon.
The crew also confirmed they did not require any assistance on arrival and the flight landed safely at 5.18pm.
After over five hours on the ground, the flight departed Shannon again at 10.40pm but flew to Stansted Airport in England.
While the flight could be tracked on some aircraft tracking apps, the identity and other details about the aircraft and flight were not available. This is often done at the request of the owner/operator of the aircraft.
In the US meanwhile, where Scott was due to be on stage, thousands of fans were left bewildered when the concert was cancelled with just hours to go.
There was no comment from Scott about the cancellation on his social media accounts as of Friday evening.
According to the venue’s X (formerly Twitter) account: “Travis Scott’s show at United Center scheduled for tonight has been postponed. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new date once announced. More information will be posted here and emailed to ticketholders directly when available.”
The reason for the postponement was not specified.
One person on ‘X’ said: “Doing 2 shows in 2 days across the world from each other was never gonna work out, was it.”
Another disappointed fan said: “Thanks for canceling a few hours before the show!! Real nice of you to do Travis!”
Scott posted a cryptic message on ‘X’ at 12.49am (Irish time). It read, “IM SOOOOOO F***********G HOTTTTTTTTTTT.”
A fan responded: “That’s all you have to say to the fans who came to Chicago to see you???”
Scott’s jet is registered to Cactus Jack Airlines LLC in Los Angeles. The jet’s registration number comprises the ‘713’ area code for Houston, Texas where he was born while the ‘TS’ at the end represent his initials.
