Airport crowd clamors for glimpse of President | News

COLONIE - Four-and-a- half year old Elias Prodger of Saratoga Springs, knows his planes.  On Tuesday he joined his dad at the airport to look for a big one, with an important passenger.

Reporter: "What's his plane called?"

Elias: "Air Force One!"

You could feel the anticipation build among the crowd at the Albany airport's observation deck. Onlookers scanned the skies, hoping for a glimpse of President Barack Obama's arrival.

"It's very chilling, you get chills in your body to see him cause you're so proud of him," said Euthia Benson, an Albany resident.

"If we can actually see him and we can maybe wave to him and say hi to him," said Luke Staszak, of Ballston Spa.

Suddenly, they spotted it on the horizon.

"It's just coming over the trees and the hanger," said Darren Prodger, Elias' father.

"It has to be a jumbo jet," exclaimed Elias.

Through a rainy haze, Air Force One touched down....

"Woo! Whoa," the crowd clapped and gasped in awe, craning their necks for a look...cameras blazing. From a distance, the President emerged under an umbrella.

"Excited. Excited! I work here too so this is really exciting," said Mary Slater, an airport worker.

"First time! It dwarfs everything else," said another onlooker.

It's the closest they may ever get to the President. Worth the trip to the airport  and the waiting, they said, even for a brief peek of the Commander in Chief.

"Just knowing that the President of the United States of America, President Barack Obama was on that plane, it was just a beautiful excitement," said Benson.

A number of people told NewsChannel 13 it wasn't the first time they've come to see the President fly in or out of the airport, as this is his third trip to the region, saying it's a chance to set aside political views, and just relish the chance to witness local history it the making.