Santa’s journey is underway. Here’s how to track his festive flight

Santa Claus is already hard at work — somewhere across the globe.

As of 7:30 a.m., the jolly old soul had already delivered nearly 5 million gifts to children in Australia, Antarctica and elsewhere.

Guided by his nine flying reindeer, Santa was headed toward Queensland, New Zealand, and then Fiji just before 7:30 a.m., according to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and Google’s Santa Tracker.

NORAD has been tracking Santa’s sleigh ride for more than 65 years. Operations include about 150 volunteers at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado Springs manning the phones, taking calls from kids asking for Santa’s location.

Google began following Santa about 20 years ago. Google elves said he was expected to land in Chichijima Island, Japan by about 8 a.m.

On Tuesday, the reindeer team got the all-clear after a veterinarian checkup in Hershey.

Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding and state Veterinarian Dr. Alex Hamberg were joined by Santa at Hersheypark to make sure the animals were in good shape for their special flight.

A transit permit was issued to allow the reindeer to enter and exit the United States from 6 p.m. Wednesday to 6 a.m. Thursday. Officials said they recognize the vital role of U.S. whole milk and cookies in fueling the festive flight.

To track Santa by phone, call 877-Hi-NORAD.