Tom Cruise lands in Scottsdale the week of Top Gun re-release

Tom Cruise flew from Austin Bergstrom International Airport to Scottsdale Airport on May 7, 2026, covering the 2-hour-25-minute journey in his Bombardier Challenger 350, N350XX. Departing at 9:14 p.m. local time, the jet reached a maximum altitude of 43,050 feet and topped 481 knots ground speed before touching down just after midnight.

The timing aligns with the upcoming re-release of Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick in theaters on May 13, celebrating the original film's 40th anniversary, as confirmed by Cruise at CinemaCon earlier this year per IMDb reports. Arizona's Harkins Theatres, a regional chain, will screen the double feature, suggesting possible promotional stops in the Phoenix area for the aviation-themed blockbusters that grossed over $1.5 billion worldwide.

This Southwest swing echoes Cruise's recent pattern of quick hops—LA to Austin earlier that day, Vegas and California jaunts on May 6—amid his heavy U.S. travel between Florida bases and West Coast hubs. As a licensed pilot and aviation enthusiast, he favors such private routes, racking up over 350,000 miles in the air, though the carbon footprint draws quiet scrutiny in an era of tracked celebrity jets.