The Federal Aviation Administration is moving to permanently tighten the airspace surrounding President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate as federal officials confront persistent threats from unauthorized aircraft and potentially weaponized drones.
The proposed rule, requested by the U.S. Secret Service, would establish a permanent Special Flight Rules Area around President Donald J. Trump International Airport in Palm Beach, formerly known as Palm Beach International Airport.
“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,” an FAA spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The restricted zone would extend one nautical mile from Mar-a-Lago and reach from the surface to 2,000 feet above sea level.
According to the FAA’s proposed rule, the Secret Service requested permanent restrictions because of “adverse threat intelligence” and the agency’s continuing mission to protect Trump.
The Secret Service argued that stronger rules would “greatly increase” its ability to counter the “persistent risks” posed by unauthorized aircraft and unmanned aircraft systems operating near sensitive locations.
Strict New Rules For Aircraft
Pilots entering the proposed security zone would have to meet several conditions.
Aircraft arriving at or departing from the Palm Beach airport would need an active visual or instrument flight plan, authorization from air traffic control and continuous two-way radio communication. Pilots would also be required to transmit a unique transponder code assigned by controllers.
Military flights supporting the president or Secret Service, along with active law enforcement, firefighting and air ambulance operations, could still enter the area after receiving clearance and meeting the communication requirements.
The permanent zone would not replace the larger temporary flight restrictions imposed when Trump is in Palm Beach. Those presidential restrictions can stretch 30 nautical miles from Mar-a-Lago and reach nearly 18,000 feet.
Instead, the new rules would keep a smaller security perimeter in place even when the broader presidential restrictions are inactive.
A temporary version of the proposed one-mile zone has been operating since October 2025 and is scheduled to expire on Oct. 20. The FAA said converting it into a permanent, charted restriction would improve public awareness and provide greater security than a temporary notice.
FAA Tries To Avoid Airport Chaos
The agency stopped short of proposing a complete ban on flights through the area because Mar-a-Lago sits dangerously close to the airport’s primary commercial runway.
The FAA determined that establishing a fully prohibited zone could make Runway 28R/10L essentially unusable for many commercial aircraft. That runway averaged approximately 86 airline operations per day in 2025.
The proposed system is designed to preserve commercial service while making it easier for federal authorities to identify and track aircraft entering the sensitive zone.
According to the FAA, the plan would have “little to no impact” on the airport’s daily traffic because pilots are already following many of the same procedures under the temporary restriction.
But whether the regulatory line will stop a determined attacker is another question.
Drone Expert Sounds The Alarm
Brett Velicovich, a former Army special operations intelligence analyst and drone expert, warned that declaring an area off-limits cannot replace systems capable of actively detecting and disabling hostile drones.
“We’re going to have to have more counter-drone systems in place because it is not good enough simply for the FAA to send a message saying this area is a no-drone zone,” Velicovich told Fox News Digital. “When you’re a bad actor, that doesn’t matter.”
Velicovich pointed to the 2024 assassination attempt against Trump in Butler, Pennsylvania. Investigators later determined that the gunman had flown a commercially available drone near the rally site before opening fire.
“When you look at what happened in Butler, it was discovered later on that the shooter had done very basic surveillance with a drone — a Chinese drone that you could buy off Amazon — before he conducted the attack against the president,” Velicovich said.
The threat has only become more serious as commercially available drones grow cheaper, more capable and easier to modify.
Fox News Digital reported that authorities disrupted a separate plot in June involving suspects accused of discussing an attack using explosive-laden drones during the UFC Freedom 250 event at the White House.
The FAA proposal is open for public comment through Oct. 2. The White House referred questions about the security plan to the Secret Service, which did not provide Fox News with additional comment.
