Boca airport sees boost in traffic, thanks to Trump Palm Beach trip
What happens when NORAD jets intercept flight restriction violators?
NORAD explains why it’s important to check for temporary flight restrictions, and what pilots should do if they encounter a NORAD fighter jet.
- Flight restrictions for President Trump’s holiday visit to Palm Beach caused a significant, temporary increase in air traffic at Boca Raton Airport.
- The restrictions created a 10-nautical-mile no-fly zone, rerouting planes to nearby airports like Boca Raton to avoid extra screening at Palm Beach International.
- Adjusted flight paths to avoid the restricted airspace led to more planes flying over neighborhoods not typically on flight routes, airport officials said.
The robust flight restrictions that direct planes away from airspace over President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club are having effects far beyond Palm Beach, especially for business jets that might otherwise have flown in and out of Palm Beach International Airport.
Flight restrictions in place for Trump’s annual holiday trip to his Palm Beach home at Mar-a-Lago led to an increase in planes arriving to and leaving from the Boca Raton Airport, officials said.
The increase in traffic was “significant and temporary,” the Boca Raton Airport Authority said in a news release.
Trump arrived at his Mar-a-Lago Club early in the morning on Dec. 20 and returned to Washington, D.C., in the evening on Jan. 4. The Federal Aviation Administration issued the flight restrictions, which coincided with Trump’s visit and were in effect from Dec. 19 through Jan. 4.
It’s unclear how much of that air traffic would have gone through Palm Beach International Airport instead of Boca Raton, Clara Bennett, executive director of the Boca Raton Airport Authority, told the Palm Beach Daily News. But the airport experiences an increase of about 24% in business-jet activity when temporary flight restrictions for a visit from Trump are in place, she said.
“Due to the greater concentration of jet aircraft, we suspect that a number of business jets choose not to undergo the additional screening required to land at PBI and instead opt to fly to a nearby airport, such as Boca Raton,” Bennett said.
The VIP-level flight restrictions included an inner ring of 10 nautical miles, which essentially serves as a no-fly zone around which all flights are re-routed, other than those scheduled to land at or take off from Palm Beach International and flights for emergency purposes, according to the notice of temporary flight restrictions.
A larger ring of 30 nautical miles allows for more movement. The Boca Raton Airport is within that outer ring.
Because aircraft are required to avoid the inner ring, planes are being sent to other airports, including Boca Raton’s, the airport authority said.
The temporary flight restrictions also prompted the FAA to adjust the paths planes use to take off from Boca Raton Airport, sending them away from the restricted airspace of the inner ring, the airport authority said.
That change has led to more flights passing over neighborhoods that are not used to seeing — or hearing — such air traffic, officials said. The new paths could lead pilots farther east or west, Bennett said.
Boca Raton Airport Authority Executive Director Clara Bennett said in the news release that airport officials appreciated the community’s understanding amid the increase in air traffic.
“The (Boca airport authority) understands that these changes in flight paths can be disruptive, and we appreciate the community’s patience,” she said.
The FAA issues the same set of flight restrictions — which features the inner ring, where security is stricter, and the outer ring, where more flights are allowed — ahead of any presidential travel in the country.
In October, the FAA also issued a semi-permanent set of flight restrictions for the airspace directly over Mar-a-Lago. Those restrictions took effect Oct. 20 and will remain in effect through at least Oct. 20, 2026, whether or not Trump is at home at his private club.
The Mar-a-Lago flight restrictions, which were ordered by the U.S. Secret Service, instruct all air traffic arriving to and departing from Palm Beach International from the east to do so via a northeast path. That path sends the planes over densely populated areas that historically have not had to deal with airplane noise or soot.
The change has prompted concerns from residents of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach, who say the noise and pollution is affecting their health, safety and property values. A group of residents formed the Palm Beach Quiet Skies Coalition, which as of Jan. 2 had 1,047 signatures on its Change.org petition calling for changes to the restrictions.
Palm Beach and West Palm Beach in December together filed a joint petition for review of the temporary flight restrictions with the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C.
Pilots who violate temporary flight restrictions are typically directed out of the restricted airspace by air traffic controllers, according to the FAA. If a pilot does not respond, the North American Aerospace Defense Command may send F-16 jets to intercept the plane and escort it from restricted airspace, the FAA said.
Pilots who violate the temporary flight restrictions could face “sanctions ranging from warnings or fines to certificate suspensions or revocations,” the FAA said.
NORAD intercepted at least one plane during Trump’s Christmas and New Year’s stay, when a plane strayed into the restricted airspace on Dec. 21 and an F-16 had to perform “a headbutt maneuver” to get the pilot’s attention, NORAD officials said.
Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [email protected]. Subscribe today to support our journalism.
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