'Pay attention' - Spirit flight warned over proximity to Air Force One

Air traffic controllers warn Spirit flight after it came too close to President Donald Trump's aircraft as he flew to the United Kingdom for his state visit.

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"Pay attention. Get off the iPad," was the stern message issued to the Spirit pilot as the aircraft flew eight miles (12.8km) parallel to Air Force One, the US president's official plane, over New York on Tuesday.

The planes were never within a distance that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) would classify as unsafe, but it was close enough to alarm officials.

"Safety is always our top priority," a Spirit spokesman told CBS, the BBC's US partner.

Spirit Flight 1300 "followed procedures and Air Traffic Control instructions" and "landed uneventfully" as planned in Boston, the airline said.