PBIA official: New Mar-a-Lago flight paths affect four times more people

The number of people being affected by a change in flight paths to keep planes from flying over President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago Club, is more than four times the number under the previous long-standing flight paths.

The former paths took planes into and out of Palm Beach International Airport directly to the east over Trump's home, which is about 2.5 miles east of the airport. In that area, there are about 2,200 homes and about 5,000 people, Gary Sypek, Palm Beach County's senior deputy director of airports, told the Department of Airports Citizens' Committee on Airport Noise during a Dec. 11 meeting.

A United Airlines jet prepares to land at Palm Beach International Airport on December 1, 2025, in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Now, the planes that are forced to to make sharp turns into and out of PBIA over a densely populated 5-square-mile area northeast of the airport affect 11,000 homes and 21,000 people, he said, citing estimates by staff members with the Department of Airports.

"It's a pretty significant increase," Sypek said.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary flight restrictions for the airspace over Mar-a-Lago that took effect Oct. 20 and are in place through Oct. 20, 2026, regardless of whether Trump is home.

That's a departure from previous temporary flight restrictions over Mar-a-Lago, which have been issued primarily during Trump's visits to Palm Beach as president. Those flight restrictions still go into place when Trump travels to Mar-a-Lago, with more strict rules over a wider area.

Instead of the single nautical mile around Mar-a-Lago that is in place when Trump is not home, the temporary flight restrictions when he is home include a radius of 10 nautical miles where most flights are banned, followed by a ring with a 30 nautical-mile radius where more movement of aircraft is allowed, according to the FAA.

Concerns grow about effects

Residents who are affected by the new flight paths — the orders for which face legal challenges from Palm Beach County, Palm Beach and West Palm Beach — told the airport's noise committee that the constant roar of airplanes over their homes is disrupting their way of life.

"We are right underneath the flight path. We literally can see almost the passengers," said venture capitalist David Skok, who lives in a custom home he and his wife, Mally, recently completed in the Palm Beach's Estate Section.

Skok said the persistent overhead passage of jet engines has disrupted his nervous system. "It is a horrendous level of noise," he said. "This is not a level of noise that you can simply quietly ignore. It completely ceases all conversation and it kind of shakes you to your core."

Those who oppose the flight restrictions have said they understand the need for increased security around Mar-a-Lago when Trump is home, but they question the need for such measures when he is away.

"This is a town that's shown itself to be incredibly reasonably willing to help with security for Donald Trump," Skok said, noting that there are reasonable steps taken by the federal government, including the closure of South Ocean Boulevard next to Mar-a-Lago when Trump is in Palm Beach.

The flight paths take the planes right over Worth Avenue, disrupting shoppers, diners, residents and visitors in Midtown and the Estate Section.

Raphael Clemente, a resident of West Palm Beach's Flamingo Park neighborhood and executive director of Palm Beach Venture Philanthropy, said the flight paths during Trump's first term is office were fanned to the north and south, not only to the northeast.

"It was significantly less impactful," he said. "And I would say, psychologically, emotionally, you knew it was going to stop when the president wasn't in town, and that changed the nature of the experience tremendously."

Officials seek reports, complaints

A common question from those in attendance at the Dec. 11 meeting: How do people concerned about the restrictions' effects contact officials to share those concerns?

People can file a complaint about airport noise with the county's Department of Airports by calling 561-244-9510, or by emailing Craig Delegato, the airport's manager of noise abatement and community affairs, at [email protected].

Kristina Webb is a reporter for Palm Beach Daily News, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. You can reach her at [email protected]. Subscribe today to support our journalism.