The FAA has proposed the creation of a Special Flight Rules Area (SFRA) near Donald J. Trump International Airport (KDJT, formerly Palm Beach International Airport), the agency told FLYING Tuesday.
The rare restriction would join only a handful of SFRAs the FAA already maintains and add to limitations that are already in place at the president’s Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida.
The regulator in October 2025 implemented a year-round Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) below 2,000 feet within 1 nm of Mar-a-Lago, which is active regardless of whether the president is at the property. Previous presidential TFRs have activated only when the president is in residence. A mobile TFR also travels with Air Force One—the call sign for whatever aircraft is carrying the president—like a giant bubble.
According to Reuters, new restrictions at Mar-a-Lago with the same 1 nm and 2,000 feet parameters are being sought by the U.S. Secret Service due to security concerns raised by threat intelligence. Reuters quotes the FAA as saying the special flight rules will “greatly increase the ability to mitigate the persistent risks posed by unauthorized aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems,” or UAS, commonly referred to as drones.
“At the request of the U.S. Secret Service in the interest of national security, the FAA is proposing Special Air Traffic Rules for the airspace near Donald J. Trump International Airport (DJT),” the FAA said in a statement to FLYING.
The agency said only flights meeting “specific safety and operational conditions” would be permitted within the new “DJT Special Flight Rules Area.” A notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) laying out the restrictions is scheduled to be published Wednesday in the Federal Register.
According to the unpublished NPRM, the proposed SFRA would replace the restrictions the FAA created for Mar-a-Lago last year, which are set to expire October 20.
D.C. Airspace Restrictions
The FAA maintains an SFRA covering a 30 nm radius in Washington, D.C., which carries with it certain requirements for pilots and air traffic controllers. Extending for a 15 nm radius around Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (KDCA) is a more stringent Flight-Restricted Zone (FRZ) that permits only government and scheduled commercial flights without a waiver.
Within the FRZ are Prohibited Areas 56 A and B (P-56A and P-56B) surrounding the White House, National Mall, and vice president’s residence in D.C. Only specially authorized flights supporting the U.S. Secret Service, Office of the President, or other government agencies requiring air support are permitted within P-56A and B.
It is unclear whether the proposed Mar-a-Lago SFRA would contain an FRZ or another more restrictive layer.
The FAA’s proposal follows several recent TFR violations.
In August, five general aviation aircraft were intercepted for flying in a presidential TFR covering airspace near Houston and active while Trump was visiting the area Thursday and Friday. Earlier that month, two aircraft were guided out of a TFR over Bedminster, New Jersey, which is activated when the president visits Trump National Golf Club.
Neither incident was reported to have constituted a threat to the president.
Earlier this year, multiple unidentified drones overflew a D.C.-area military installation housing U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and senior Pentagon leaders. The incident reportedly prompted officials to consider relocating Hegseth and Rubio.
Though the president travels often, Mar-a-Lago since 2019 has been established as Trump’s permanent residence.
According to Reuters, the proposed 1 nm SFRA around the estate would be much smaller than D.C.’s SFRA or FRZ. But it could still face pushback from Palm Beach residents, who have complained that the Mar-a-Lago TFR’s modification of certain flight paths has led to greater aircraft noise in neighboring communities.
