Palm Beach International Airport in Florida officially took on a new name Thursday morning, becoming President Donald J. Trump International Airport — marked by the arrival of Trump’s own Boeing 757 as the first plane to land under the rebranded banner.
The 89-year-old airport, situated about five miles west of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, was renamed under legislation approved in February by Florida’s Republican-led legislature and signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, a former political rival of Trump.
Eric Trump documented the moment from aboard his father’s “Trump Force One” as the aircraft neared the airport, sharing a video on X of an air traffic controller announcing the change at 5:01 a.m.
“Attention all aircraft, effective immediately, Palm Beach International Airport is now Donald J. Trump International Airport,” the controller said over the radio.
Also on the flight were Donald Trump Jr. and Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.).
Trump has not yet landed at the airport bearing his name. He had returned to the White House from the annual NATO summit in Turkey roughly three hours before his family members arrived in Florida.
“There is no person who has done more for Florida and our country, and no one more deserving of this incredible honor,” Eric Trump wrote on X.
“As a son, and someone who flies out of this airport nearly every day, I will forever be proud to see the initials ‘DJT’ on my boarding pass. Congratulations Dad — I’m happy to have played a big role in making this happen.”
The change has predictably delighted Trump’s fans and outraged Democrats.
Rep. Lois Frankel (D-Fla.) who represents parts of Palm Beach — the ultra-exclusive barrier island where Mar-a-Lago sits — and West Palm Beach, where the airport is located, slammed the change as “misguided and unfair” earlier this year.
“Decisions about naming major infrastructure should wait until after an honoree’s service has concluded,” she said.
Unlike his predecessors, Trump has welcomed unprecedented moves to place his name and image on US coins, paper currency, passports and buildings — including both the US Institute of Peace and the Kennedy Center, the latter of which was reversed following a court order.
There is precedent for such a name change. For example, the airport in Little Rock, Ark. was renamed Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport in 2012 by local officials while the former first lady was still serving as secretary of state.
In 1998, Clinton signed Republican-pushed legislation renaming Washington National Airport, across the Potomac River from DC, in honor of former President Ronald Reagan.
Many residents of heavily Democratic Washington still call the airport by its former name or by its airport code, DCA.
Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush also have airports named in their honor.
