Palm Beach International Airport was the second-most popular airport for private jets in the United States in 2023, but all those jet-owning rich folks are facing new restrictions thanks to Donald Trump. Despite over 56 percent or 6.1 million Floridian voters casting their ballots for Trump, his re-election as a civil servant means that no one can fly private jets into or out of Palm Beach International airport (PBI) between the hours of 5 p.m. and 8 a.m. whenever Trump is at Mar-a-Lago.
These temporary flight restrictions, or TFRs, are expected to cause significantly more disruption for civilian private jet users this time around than his first term as President for several reasons. During Trump’s first term, PBI was ranked seventh in the nation for private jet departures per ARGUS Traqpak, so the airport’s popularity among private jet users has significantly increased. Private Jet Card cites WingX data showing that PBI had 55 percent more movements in 2023 than it did in 2017 during the first Trump term, with 87,292 total movements. During that first term, Trump was at Mar-a-Lago several times a month, and that’s not likely to decrease for his second term, so those poor millionaires, or more realistically the employees they almost-certainly underpay, will have lots of hoops to jump through if they still want to fly into PBI.
Private jet fliers who still wish to fly to PBI when Trump is at Mar-a-Lago and a TFR is in effect may only depart or transit via five gateway airports, including the busiest airport in the world for private jets, New Jersey’s Teterboro Airport, as well as Westchester County Airport in New York, Dulles International Airport near D.C., Orlando International Airport, and Fort Lauderdale International Airport. Even if they depart or transit through one of the gateway airports, they still must register for a reservation slot with TSA at their chosen gateway airport at least 24 hours before departure, and to make matters tougher, TFRs will not be announced earlier than 72-hours before implementation. PBI published this presentation that outlines all of the details surrounding the TFRs that Trump causes.
Nearby airport alternatives include Boca Raton Airport, which is 25 miles south of PBI, and Withan Field in Stuart, Florida, which is about 40 miles north of PBI. While Boca Raton Airport is closer to PBI, some fear that it is already a very busy airport that may not have the space or the capacity to handle significant overflow. If you’re planning to fly your private jet into any of these airports, pay the damn taxes you owe, and keep your schedule flexible because you may face some unexpected delays and lots of red tape.