Trump’s presidential victory could stop flights over his Florida estate

Winning the presidency may also help Donald Trump win control of the skies over his Palm Beach estate.

Trump for 20 years has waged a legal battle trying to stop flights out of Palm Beach International Airport in Florida from passing over Mar-a-Lago, his island club and part-time residence.

Now security measures for the president-elect could, at least temporarily, keep planes from flying over his property.

The Federal Aviation Administration has already created temporary flying restrictions over Trump Tower in New York and is looking into how to handle Trump’s visits to Mar-a-Lago.

“The Federal Aviation Administration will engage with the U.S. Secret Service about flight restrictions that will be put in place during the transition and for future presidential visits to Palm Beach, Florida,” according to an FAA statement released Friday. “We will work to minimize the impact on commercial and general aviation.”

Planes leaving the airport in West Palm Beach often pass over Mar-a-Lago, which is 2½ miles away on 18 acres that reach from the Lake Worth Lagoon to the Atlantic Ocean.

But airport operations are always subject to change when presidents fly in for a visit. Air Force One flights can temporarily shut down others — something that could occur more often if Mar-a-Lago becomes a White House getaway.

One of Trump’s new presidential powers will be nominating the FAA administrator.

Trump’s latest lawsuit involving the airport, filed in January 2015, seeks $100 million in damages for “creating an unreasonable amount of noise, emissions and pollutants at Mar-a-Lago.”

The Mediterranean-style, crescent-shaped building with a 75-foot-tall tower was built in 1927 as a home for cereal heiress Marjorie Merriweather Post and is a National Historic Landmark. Trump purchased the estate in 1985, restored the building and converted it to a private club.

Trump’s lawsuits trying to change flight patterns started in 1995.

He has argued that noise, vibrations and emissions from airport traffic have been damaging the historic oceanfront estate. The lawsuit also argues that because of his legal fight, officials have concentrated air traffic over the island estate instead of spreading flights out in different directions.

A year ago, four of the six counts of Trump’s lawsuit were dismissed. The judge found Trump failed to show the county was responsible for sending planes over Mar-a-Lago or that the flyovers were occurring at low altitudes.

Trump’s remaining argument centers on whether the flyovers are creating an unusual nuisance for Mar-a-Lago.

County officials through the years have denied any wrongdoing with airport operations. The county estimates it has cost local taxpayers more than $600,000 to defend against Trump’s airport-related legal fights.

Airport spokeswoman Cassandra Davis and the FAA wouldn’t comment on how Trump becoming president could affect the airport lawsuit. So far, flight paths out of Palm Beach International Airport remain normal, Davis said

Reid writes for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

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