PBIA protocol for Air Force One on county agenda
A workshop this month will address visits by the new president.
WEST PALM BEACH — What to do about that plane? The one that part-time Palm Beacher Donald Trump will be using when he visits his Mar-a-Lago Club on Palm Beach. No, not the one with his name emblazoned on the tail. The one he’ll start riding in after Jan. 20 that says “United States of America.”
On the agenda for a Jan. 24 Palm Beach County Commission workshop: “Airport presentation on presidential visits.”’
County Airports Director Bruce Pelly told The Palm Beach Post on Wednesday only that he was “still working on” his presentation about how the county will handle landings by Air Force One at Palm Beach International Airport, a short ride west of Mar-a-Lago.
Tr u mp h a s b e e n s p e n d i n g holidays at Palm Beach for two decades.
Even before Trump’s stunning upset win on Nov. 8, the county was mulling how to handle his visits should he become president. He visited for Thanksgiving and was there for the Christmas-New Year holidays. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a temporary flight restriction for the airspace over Mar-a-Lago, that ran through Monday night. It allows flights into and out of PBIA to fly over the club, but bans smaller planes without FAA approval.
Already, the county has asked the feds to reimburse it for costs associated with escorting and providing security for Trump’s Thanksgiving holiday at Mar-a-Lago. County Administrator Verdenia Baker has said the cost of escorting Trump’s motorcade and providing additional security over the holiday was roughly $250,000.