Florida's Palm Beach airport gets a new name—it's now President Donald J. Trump International Airport
Palm Beach International Airport was officially renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport on Thursday, becoming the latest public institution to bear the US President's
Palm Beach International Airport was officially renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport on Thursday, becoming the latest public institution to bear the US President's name. The move honours Trump in his adopted home state of Florida, where his Mar-a-Lago resort is located, and follows legislation signed earlier this year by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis approving the name change. Airport adopts new 'DJT' code The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) changed the airport's three-letter identifier from PBI to DJT on Thursday. However, passengers will continue using the PBI code while booking flights until August 18, when the new identifier will be fully integrated into airline reservation systems, tickets and baggage tags, according to the airport.
Airport authorities said the renaming project cost approximately $5.5 million. Eric Trump arrives on first flight Donald Trump's son, Eric Trump, was among the first passengers to arrive at the newly renamed airport, landing on a private aircraft in the early hours of Thursday. Speaking to Fox News, Eric Trump welcomed the move, saying, "I don't think there's anybody more synonymous with Palm Beach than Donald Trump in maybe all of Florida." He later joked, "There's no way in hell I was letting UPS be the first plane to land." Part of broader effort to expand Trump's legacy The airport renaming is the latest in a series of initiatives that have attached Trump's name to public institutions, government programmes and infrastructure during his second term.
Since returning to the White House last year, Trump's name has been associated with a planned class of US Navy warships, a visa programme for wealthy foreign investors, a government-run prescription drug website and federal savings accounts for children. His administration has also sought to reshape federal institutions in Washington. While Trump's name was added to the United States Institute of Peace building, attempts to rename the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts were rejected by the courts. Airport joins list of politically named facilities Palm Beach airport now joins several US airports named after prominent political figures.
Examples include the airport in Little Rock, Arkansas, named after former President Bill Clinton and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, although it retained its original LIT airport code. Other airports across the United States have also been renamed in honour of former lawmakers, including facilities in Las Vegas and San Jose, California.
The BriefWire