AOPA has suggested a way to ease the impact of President Donald Trump’s frequent visits to his Palm Beach resort. AOPA President Mark Baker has written Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly asking that “security screening capabilities and gateway operations” be established at Palm Beach County Park/Lantana Airport to allow relatively normal GA operations to carry on when Trump is at Mar-a-Lago. The airport is a reliever to Palm Beach International and home to a host of aviation-related businesses and based aircraft. As we reported last week, the TFRs that result from Trump’s visits to the “southern White House” cost operators at Lantana about $30,000 and it’s devastating their businesses. There are five flight schools and about 20 other businesses at the busy field.
AOPA originally pressed for a cutout in the presidential TFR but the TSA did not authorize it. Lantana is within the inner 10-NM ring no-fly-zone established for presidential TFRs and the Secret Service insists that nobody be allowed to fly in that ring without TSA screening. “A fixed base operator, Stellar Aviation at Lantana Airport, has a 300-square-foot office that is available for passenger and luggage screening and is ready to work with the TSA to implement gateway operations,” Baker wrote. AOPA has also asked Florida senators Marco Rubio and Bill Nelson and Rep. Lois Frankel to have a word with the TSA.
