Q&A on the News

Does President Donald Trump’s presence and security at his Mar-a-Lago property impact the air traffic from Palm Beach International Airport? As I remember, most of the runways run east and west, meaning flights taking off and landing would fly directly over the president’s property. Do they reroute the flight paths? —Donald Varn, Roswell

When President Trump is visiting Mar-a-Lago, the Federal Aviation Administration issues a temporary flight restriction (TFR) around Palm Beach International Airport, which requires all flight paths to be rerouted, airport spokeswoman Casandra Davis told Q&A on the News.

The FAA may restrict air space using a TFR for several reasons, including protecting persons and property from hazards, providing an area for disaster relief to operate, creating safe conditions for space agency operations, creating a secure area around large public events, and protecting the president and other public officials.

Mar-a-Lago lies just over 2 nautical miles from Palm Beach International Airport and directly in the arrival path of one of the runways, according to an FAA briefing on the National Business Aviation Association’s website, NBAA.org. The flight restriction will apply to all airspace in a 30-mile radius of Palm Beach and up to 17,999 feet above the surface.