These people help clearing Santa's flight path for smooth sleighing

For the past 70 years, staff at the North American Aerospace Defence Command – or NORAD - in Colorado Springs have had a very important task: tracking Santa.

This image provided by NORAD, the North American Aerospace Defense Command, responsible for monitoring and defending the skies above North America, shows NORAD's Santa Tracker. Credit: AAP

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These people help clearing Santa's flight path for smooth sleighing

SBS Indonesian

06:11Indonesian

NORAD spokeswoman Colonel Kelly Frushour says Santa is of course no threat.

It's just that the same combination of radar, satellites and jets that help NORAD carry out its mission throughout the year make it capable of tracking Santa.

The Colonel says there's also a hotline to answer callers' questions about Santa's mission - and Michelle Martin is one of the NORAD planners for the Christmas call centre.

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