I saw another article today, mentioning tangentially about Trump relocating to Florida. I assume he would live at Mar-a-Loco.
We know that presidents get protection for the rest of their lives, right? How much protection?
Specifically, I wonder: Wherever an incumbent president goes, he is surrounded by a no-fly bubble. Does this continue after he leaves office?
It’s been discussed here and elsewhere that a certain General Aviation airport exists near Mar-a-Loco, which has been compelled to go on lockdown every time Trump is at M-a-L, with ruinous effects to the aviation-related businesses located there. Will this continue to be the case after Trump of out of office?
On a related note: These discussions have also noted the disruptive effects of His Superlative Presence on the nearby community, what with roadblocks and what-not. And we’ve seen discussions of the disruption caused by his protection every time he visits Trump Tower too. How much of these things will persist after Trump is out of office?
ETA: Does anyone know any answers, based on the facts from previous presidents?
Is it a general aviation airport? As far as I know the closest airport to Mar-a-Lago is Palm Beach International, a major commercial airport only a few miles away. I know in the past Trump has complained about the planes flying over his resort, as if ATC was doing it on purpose to annoy him.
I havn’t heard of it going on lockdown merely due to his presence at Mar-a-Lago, but IIRC it’s the airport he uses whenever he flies down there on Air Force One, and I believe it does go on lockdown whenever AF1 is present with him on board. Well maybe not “lockdown” exactly, but no other planes allowed to take off or land. Is that what you’re thinking of maybe? If it’s on lockdown the entire time he’s present at the resort that I haven’t heard about that, and I’d certainly be interested in reading more about it.
The airport is Lantana Airport in Lantana, FL, six miles from Mar-a-Loco. It serves general aviation only, no scheduled commercial flights. Businesses include (or included) flight schools, small aircraft maintenance, and a banner-flying business and such-like.
Business owners were trying to work out some kind of compromise with Secret Service. Last I read of that (also quite some time ago), Secret Service wasn’t budging, and the airport goes on total lockdown every time Trump shows up, for the entire time he is at M-a-L.
Here is the aeronautical chart for the area. Palm Beach International (KPBI) is at the center of the heavy magenta rings. Palm Beach County Park / Lantana airport (KLNA) is just immediately to the south of that. (Note: If you want to move around or zoom, it uses the same User Interface as Google Maps.)
Ah, I see, Lantana Airport is actually farther away than Palm Beach International, which is why I was confused, but the no-fly zone only applies to private aircraft. So commercial flights are still allowed at PBI, but the smaller airport is essentially shut down. And I assume private planes are banned from PBI during that time, as well.
Assuming this link gets you exactly the same view I am seeing, here is what to look for:
Note Route 98, the east-west route near the top of the view. Just above this, at top center, is a little airplane icon, indicating Palm Beach International Airport. At the FAR east end of Route 98, where it meets A1A, is about where Mar-a-Lago is. Near the bottom of this view is an area called Lake Worth, and just about south of that you’ll see John Prince Park at bottom center of the view. Just immediately south of that (you may have to scroll and zoom in to see it) is Lantana Airport.
You can zoom in on any of these areas to see in more detail, but this view seems to be as zoomed in as you can get and still see all these points of interest on screen at once.
My question still stands: Will these security restrictions continue indefinitely after Trump leaves office?
Also, I’ll add this question: Has Secret Service come to some compromise with the airport or the local community regarding these draconian restrictions, or are they still standing their ground to this day?
Apparently not. Some of the articles I read (I think including one of the ones I linked in Post #5) mentioned that the Secret Service has worked out compromise solutions with those airports, so that they remain open with some kind of restrictions. But I just skimmed over the details.
OTOH, as of those February/March 2017 articles, the Secret Service has refused to budge on Lantana Airport. Nobody there is allowed to do so much as fire up an airplane engine while Trump is in town – Which also affects the maintenance shops. They can’t even spin up an engine to test it while they are working on it.
I worked with a guy who had a small plane and he had to get special permission to fly it to DC, I think to Reagan National. I don’t know if they did some background check on him or something else.