PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — In a move with major implications for pilots, Palm Beach County and the ongoing legal battle over airspace — the Federal Aviation Administration has issued a new letter that formally resets and extends flight restrictions around Mar-a-Lago for another full year, effective Dec. 10, 2025.
The letter, sent Monday by Palm Beach Air Traffic Manager Mark Siviglia and obtained by WPTV’s Michael Hoffman, outlines a set of temporary flight restriction-driven procedural amendments for Palm Beach International Airport (PBI).
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While many of the operating limits were already in place under the year-round flight restriction activated on Oct. 20, this letter establishes a new one-year timeframe—now stretching to Dec. 10, 2026.
This directly contradicts earlier understanding that the restrictions would expire one year from their October activation. Instead, the FAA’s new directive “casts in stone” that the clock restarts as of Dec. 10.
According to sources familiar with the matter, the FAA’s new letter is viewed internally as a direct response to Palm Beach County’s decision to move forward with litigation against both the FAA and the U.S. Secret Service, regarding the impact of the Mar-a-Lago flight restrictions on airport operations and local businesses.
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The letter’s issuance appears to signal the FAA taking the “high ground” by formalizing and extending the procedures while the case proceeds.
The FAA memo outlines several operational shifts at PBI, including:
- Runway 28R arrivals restricted to approved IFR aircraft using designated offset procedures
- Runway 10L and 10R departures receiving special tower-assigned headings to avoid the TFR
- Runway 10L arrivals receiving alternate missed-approach instructions
- Runway 32 arrivals prohibited from circling to land on Runway 28R
All other procedures remain unchanged.
Those wishing to appeal the new procedural amendments have until 11:59 p.m. Friday — essentially midnight going into Saturday — to file.
The FAA is directing pilots and operators to consult current NOTAMs for up-to-date TFR information.
WPTV’s Michael Hoffman confirmed that the county has filed an appeal to the new extension to the restrictions.
NEW LETTER FROM FAA:
PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW:
