This wasn’t the only breach of the weekend. On Saturday morning, fighter jets had to conduct another intercept shortly after Trump arrived at the golf course from Mar-a-Lago.
In yet another airspace security breach near US President Donald Trump’s Florida residence, Air Force fighter jets were scrambled on Sunday to intercept a civilian aircraft flying into temporarily restricted airspace. The incident, which unfolded as Trump wrapped up a round of golf at his West Palm Beach course, marked the latest in a string of more than 20 violations since he took office on January 20.
According to a statement from the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), F-16 fighter jets deployed flares to alert the pilot and ensure compliance. Jets also conducted an intercept on Saturday morning shortly after Trump arrived at the course from his private Mar-a-Lago club and residence. This wasn’t the only breach of the weekend. On Saturday morning, fighter jets had to conduct another intercept shortly after Trump arrived at the golf course from Mar-a-Lago.
The airspace intrusions in the heavily congested south Florida airspace have prompted fighter jet intercepts but did not alter Trump’s schedule or impact his security, officials said. NORAD says the flares may have been visible from the ground but that they burn out quickly and don’t pose danger. Federal officials maintain a permanent flight restriction over Trump’s club that expands to a radius of 30 nautical miles when the president is in residence.
Violations and intercepts are relatively routine, but NORAD is raising alarm over the frequency of the intrusions since Trump’s inauguration, saying it has responded to more than 20 incidents and blames civilian pilots for not following regulations requiring them to check for airspace restrictions before taking off.
“Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,” Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of NORAD and US Northern Command said in a statement. “The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates many civil aviators are not reading Notice to Airmen, or NOTAMS, before each flight as required by the FAA, and has resulted in multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of the TFR,” the statement added.
(With AP inputs)
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