The U.S. FAA, along with senior government security officials, has outlined plans for a 30-nm temporary flight restriction (TFR) over the Palm Beach area when President Donald Trump visits his Florida residence, Mar-a Lago. His residence is just 2.1 nm from Palm Beach International (PBI), one of the busiest airports for business aircraft in the U.S.

The FAA, Transportation Security Administration, U.S. Secret Service and other federal and state agencies outlined their plans to accommodate business aircraft access when Trump is at Mar-a-Largo to industry representatives on January 19, NBAA alerted members.

When active, the TFR will have a 30-nm outer ring with a 10-nm no-fly-zone inner ring that both extend from the surface up to 17,999 feet. PBI is near the center of that no-fly-zone, but the government agencies set up a gateway airport and screening process to enable business aircraft access. Aircraft must be screened at Westchester County, Teterboro, Washington Dulles, Orlando International or Fort Lauderdale International Airport before flying to PBI when the TFR is active.

Doug Carr, NBAA vice president of regulatory and international affairs, noted this marks an expansion of the original plans, which included just two gateways. Screening will be available from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. for both inbound and outbound traffic, Carr added, but said the association would continue to work with the government in hopes of expanding those screening hours.

The TFR also will include new airspace procedures and prohibit certain kinds of operations, including flight training, practice instrument approaches, maintenance test flights and unmanned aircraft systems operations.

NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen praised the agencies for developing a “playbook” for business aviation during the presidential TFR in Florida. “While TFRs present extraordinary challenges for business aviation, and remain a blunt security tool that has remained largely unchanged for decades, these agencies’ efforts to utilize industry data to support expanded gateway options for this TFR are welcome,” Bolen said.

Noting that the economic impact of the TFR “will be greatly felt,” he added that the government agencies have agreed to regularly review the procedure, which “we hope will identify greater efficiencies for this TFR.” The TFR is in place only when Trump is at Mar-a-Lago, but it is unclear how often that might occur or how much notice there might be.

“NBAA appreciates the efforts of multiple agencies to accommodate business aviation at Palm Beach International Airport, but we also recognize that some significant challenges still exist,” Carr added. “We look forward to working with the various agencies and industry partners to address—and hopefully minimize—the effect that the presidential TFR at PBI will have on business aviation and local businesses.”

NBAA has scheduled a special information session on the TFR during its upcoming West Palm Beach Regional Forum on January 26. Robert Berlucchi, PBI’s air traffic manager, will detail the TFR implementation plan. In addition, NBAA had developed a resource on its website providing information about the TFR.