Real Miami: contrails and balloons over the Keys
Two real curiosities from the Florida sky, with sources.
Original illustration by Lucia.
The white trails that planes leave in the sky form when the air at altitude is very cold, around −39 °C or lower, according to NASA. The humidity of the air decides how long the trail lasts.
In the Florida Keys there is another object in the sky: aerostats, tethered balloons that watch the southern border for low-flying aircraft. They belong to the US border agency, CBP. The first one was at Cudjoe Key, in 1978, and the Air Force ran the system until July 2013. The CBP page does not mention the Coast Guard or Cuba.
The official launch trailer for GTA 6 shows a blimp on the horizon, near Brian's marina. The video does not make clear what kind of object it is, and linking it to the CBP balloons is a fan interpretation. Leonida, the game's imaginary state, resembles Florida, which is why real details like these come up in the conversation.
Source: NASA Earth Observatory · Feb 21, 2013, updated on Jan 31, 2026 · CBP: aerostats · modified on Dec 29, 2025 · Rockstar: Launch Trailer (Newswire) · Oct 15, 2026, checked on Nov 15, 2026
Read on Nov 15, 2026. The game launches at local midnight on Nov 19, and this item may change at launch.