The Associated Press is reporting that business at Lantana Airport, also known as West Palm Beach County Airport, won’t get any concessions from the Secret Service. The airport will have to close down each time President Donald Trump visits his Mar-a-Lago resort, despite efforts by GA advocacy groups and others.
According to the AP report, Secret Service officials told lawmakers in a closed door meeting that GA aircraft based at the airport “could be a threat to the president’s security even if the aircraft are directed away from the resort.”
The flight schools, a banner operation and other businesses at Lantana say they are losing thousands of dollars every time the president visits, the report continues. Trump has visited Mar-a-Lago four of the seven weekends he has been president and there have been more than 30 violations of its airspace even with Lantana Airport closed.
This is outrageous that the Secret Service is allowed to arbitrarily close down large blocks of airspace with no proof that it in anyway enhances Presidential security. It may give them a warm fuzzy feeling feeling to have no aircraft operating anywhere within sight other than airliners high over head but it has very real effects on real working class people. Maybe the pilots need to go over the Secret Services heads to President Trump and let him know just how badly his presence is affecting the working class people that make up a large part of his support base. Maybe that way he will override them and open the airspace back up or at least spend his weekends at Camp David.
I’m guessing this wasn’t in the cards when they voted for Trump
AS the ole saying goes; “there’s NO free lunch”! ps Why is it that the light plane segment of GA (consumer/provider) is apparently “left” – if you get my drift?
For what it is worth South Florida was not where Trumps support was the highest, that was the panhandle but he still had good support there and won the state. Now enough of political comments.
This is about the Secret Service policies and their unwillingness to be flexible. President Trump has shown a desire to stop the Federal government from intruding upon citizens so if he was properly made aware of the South Florida situation he could order the restrictions to be lifted, the Secret Service is under the Executive branch so he is their boss ultimately.
The Prez and other gov officials haven’t had to wait in line like the rest of us serfs for such a long time now. Do you really think any of them would give up that perk now that they have it?
Use your vote and start firing these clowns.
I like to bash politicians as much as anyone else but they are not the problem here. What we are dealing with is the Secret Service, a branch of the Treasury Department and one of their duties is to protect the President and the restrictions they impose are their own doing. The President does not have any direct knowledge of what they are doing hence my suggestion that an effort be made to bring it directly to his attention, an online petition directly to the Whitehouse or other such action might work best. The Secret Service has gone crazy since 9/11 and done all sorts of outlandish things to create a huge bubble of protection around the President and maybe it is time that they get reined in a little. Maybe this is the President that will show some interest in what they are doing to local businesses but first he has to be made aware and petty sniping from his opponents won’t work towards a solution.