Federal budget cuts are grounding the Air Force’s Thunderbirds and that has prompted the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce to indefinitely postpone the Mountain Madness Air Show scheduled for July.

On Friday, the Air Force announced the cancellation of all Thunderbirds shows after April 1 because of sequestration and its automatic across-the-board spending cuts put in place by Congress and the White House as a result of their ongoing inability to reach a federal budget deal.

That cancellation notice means no Thunderbirds air shows for Kalispell and several dozen other communities around the country this year.

“This is disappointing news for the [air show] committee, but more importantly for the entire community,” Joe Unterreiner, president of the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, said in a press release on Sunday.

“An air show always brings a major economic benefit to the area. The shows attract thousands of out-of-market visitors. And last time, our air show concessions enabled nonprofit and community organizations to raise more than $50,000 for their work here in the valley,” Unterreiner said.

The air show would have featured one of Kalispell’s own, with Captain Jason Curtis training to fly as the Thunderbirds’ opposing solo pilot.

Details about when the demonstration team will resume performances after April 1 are unclear. The intent is to ensure the squadron is ready to resume demonstrations the moment the sequester is rescinded, Lieutenant Col. Greg Moseley, squadron commander, wrote in a posting on the Thunderbirds’ website.

“We are as disappointed as everyone else about the news and will resume our planning for an air show as soon as the opportunity arises,” Unterreiner said.

“I would like to thank everyone on the air show committee for their support and contributions, all the air show fans in the Flathead and those who travel to join us and the staff and the board of the Glacier Park International Airport who have been such a great partner for us.”