Track Santa as he makes his way to the Peace Region

Dec 24, 2024 | 12:00 PM

Christmas Eve is upon us, and with the day brings Saint Nick and his sleigh making his annual trek across the globe.

The North American Aerospace Defense Command has been tracking Santa for 69 years now, all thanks to a misprinted phone number in a newspaper to call Santa Claus directly back in 1955.

Major-General F. William Radiff with the Royal Canadian Air Force and NORAD Director of Operations says he’s been able to see Santa in Canadian airspace five times.

“On those Christmas Eve’s in Canada, we fly the aircraft in order to intercept and escort Santa, but really not very long because he’s flying so quickly. But we get to waggle our wings at him and say hello to him and see Rudolph’s bright red nose.”

Major-General Radiff says NORAD tracks the man in red for two reasons; as they are the only organization that can use satellites, radar, and fighter jets to keep an eye on his delivery route, and to make sure he doesn’t run into any issues on his trip.

“With today’s air traffic, there’s more and more airplanes flying. With out ability to help track Santa we also are able to keep him safe.”

If you want to follow along and see where Santa will be next, there is a variety of ways to do so:

Online with the official NORAD Santa Tracker
Call 1-877-HI-NORAD to ask live operators where Santa is, until midnight
NORAD Tracks Santa app on your mobile device’s app store
NORAD Tracks Santa on social media (Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and X)

by Erika Rolling