Biden, traveling on a commercial jet out of Reagan National Airport, was among the passengers caught in the same travel disruption as other riders when fog-laden skies forced an hourlong ground stop on Friday. The delay backed up passengers who were hoping to depart from American Airlines’ Terminal D, where a commuter gate area initially filled and then swelled as the stoppage continued.
The situation drew attention shortly after word spread among nearby gates: among the hundreds of air travelers moving through the terminal, only Biden was accompanied by a U.S. Secret Service detail and by uniformed local police officers. Biden, who the report said has rarely made public appearances since leaving office last year, sat with other passengers while awaiting a flight to Columbia, South Carolina, for an evening event with the South Carolina Democratic Party.
After the ground stop, the report said Biden boarded the commuter jet ahead of other passengers, with his security detail positioned throughout the plane. It described Biden seated in the third row of the small first class cabin, as members of the detail spread across the aircraft.
As passengers boarded, the report captured brief exchanges with Biden. One woman told him, “God bless you, sir,” as she passed his window seat with a newspaper in her lap. A man shook Biden’s hand and said, “Thank you for your service.”
The report said that the woman seated in the aisle next to Biden placed her coffee on the arm rest they shared and stored a bag overhead, then realized her seatmate was the nation’s 46th president. The two spoke during the wait and after boarding as Biden steadied his hand on her cup when it needed support, and as they exchanged greetings and conversation.
“I feel like I’m about to cry,” the woman said during the flight conversation, according to the report. Over the next hour, the report said, she and Biden chatted throughout the ride.
The report also noted the legal backdrop for former presidents’ security and private travel. It said that former presidents and their spouses receive lifelong Secret Service protection under federal law, but that federal rules do not guarantee the private-travel security features that were available during their time in office.
In its account of why Friday’s commercial travel did not appear to be out of character, the report referenced Biden’s long-standing preference for trains when he was a senator, describing him as known for taking Amtrak and regularly riding home to Delaware rather than residing in Washington. As a former president, it said he has been seen riding the rails as well, including taking selfies with fellow passengers.