Major Florida Airport Set to Be Renamed After Donald Trump

When Donald Trump arrives in Florida for his frequent visits to his Mar-a-Lago resort, he may soon be greeted by an even more prominent display of his name.

Palm Beach International Airport is set to be renamed in honour of the sitting president, following new legislation signed by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

The change will kick in on July 1.

When the president arrives in Florida to spend time at Mar-a-Lago, he lands at Palm Beach International Airport.

From there it is a short drive down President Donald J Trump Boulevard to his club.

Trump and the airport have an ignominious history. In 2015 he filed a $US100 million lawsuit to limit planes flying over his club.

When he became president he dropped the lawsuit and instituted a no-fly zone over the area.

Palm Beach is at the northern end of the long narrow metropolitan area that runs down to Miami. 

The Federal Aviation Administration will also need to sign off on the name change, but there is nothing to suggest it will stand in the way.

While it is not uncommon for airports to be named after US presidents, it usually happens long after they have left office.

Wichita named its airport after hometown hero Dwight Eisenhower four years after his death. 

Gerald Ford and George HW Bush both had airports named after them long after they left office.

Had Hillary Clinton had won in 2016, she would enter office with an airport already named after her.

Four years earlier, the airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, was renamed Bill and Hillary Clinton Airport.

It is typical for presidents to resist things being named after them while they are in office.

In 1974, Congress passed a bill to rename a federal courthouse in Ford’s home town after the sitting president.

Ford vetoed the bill.

“I know of no Federal office buildings that have been named for a President while still in office,” Ford wrote in a memo.