Static Sunday: Balloons don’t fly on final day of fiesta

Joseph Najar was not optimistic Sunday morning about his chances of flying to cap off his third balloon fiesta.

“I’m not excited,” said Najar while eating breakfast outside the pilot’s lounge with his wife and child just before 5:30 a.m. “I would like to fly today.”

Najar, from Colorado, is a crew member for the Rainbow Ryders balloon piloted by four-time New Mexico State Hot Air Champion Troy Bradley.

“It’s kind of iffy, I’m not from here, I don’t know the clouds here, but they do look like they’re moving pretty quickly,” Najar said. “So I’m assuming the winds aloft are a little too high.”

His assumption would prove to be correct.

Roughly an hour later, the official announcement came, deflating the hopes of many pilots and balloon enthusiasts — the yellow flag was going up due to high winds. No balloons were going into the air.

The static display marked the second this weekend, the final days of the 2025 Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, as balloons did not fly on Saturday either.

It appeared many balloonists had already hit the road, as the field seemed more sparse than earlier in the week.

“There’s not many balloons here, and that’s what we came for. This is our bucket list,” said Beverly Dyer, who came to the festival from Virginia.

Joining her for the trip — and equally disappointed — was Julie Dyke, who said the event should be marketed to give a clearer picture of what actually happens at the festival.

“Just kind of managing expectations, helping people identify, what are you here for?” she said. “Are you going to ride the balloon? Are you just here, like me, to see it?”

Around 6:45 a.m., a drizzle ensued for around 15 minutes, but that didn’t stop the remaining pilots from inflating their balloons on the ground.

As the sun rose, the fog dissipated and the nine-day event that brings more tourists to Albuquerque than any other ended. Last year alone, the event was estimated to have brought a $216.33 million surge to the city.

According to Tom Garrity, spokesperson for the fiesta, the next economic impact report “will occur with the 2026 event” and attendance numbers for this year will likely be released early next month.

Some visitors, such as Elizabeth Rivera, who traveled from Hawaii for the festival’s closing weekend, found Balloon Fiesta left more to be desired.

Rivera said she’d consider returning to Albuquerque, hoping to see more balloons, but “maybe not next year.”

“For a lot of us, this is the one and done,” she said.