Trump To Visit Bedminster For 18 Days, Will 'Devastate' Local Airports

BEDMINSTER, NJ — Just one day after Bedminster was designated as a ‘residence of the President,' the Federal Aviation Administration issued a VIP Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) in the Morristown and Bedminster Township region for 18 days, from Aug. 3 to 20.

"If the dates are correct, this will devastate many New Jersey airports," said Vice President of Mid-Atlantic Aviation Coalition Robert Checchio.

Checchio, a pilot who has a Piper Archer single engine four-seat aircraft at Somerset Airport in Bedminster, is concerned about the impact of Trump's visits to the local aviation community.

There are two major components when a VIP TFR is issued. First, there is a no-fly zone issued for anything within a 10 mile radius of Trump's National Golf Course in Bedminster.

This essentially shuts down airports such as Somerset Airport and Solberg-Hunterdon Airport in Whitehouse Station.

"North Jersey Medivac units based in Somerset are still able to operate, but any non-government flights are grounded for the duration of the TFR," Checcchio said.

The second part of the TFR is the second ring, which impacts a much larger radius of airports. The second ring encompasses a 30-mile radius which includes 17 other airports such as Princeton Airport, Old Bridge Airport and Central Jersey Regional Airport in Hillsborough.

Flights within the 30-mile radius can still have aircrafts fly out of the airport to somewhere outside the ring or land from outside the ring to an airport inside.

However, all other operations are prohibited such as flight training, aerobatics, hot air ballooning, helicopters, skydiving, biplane rides and technically even flying a model airplane.

"Alexandria Field Airport in Pittstown has a very robust sky diving operation and that has to be closed down during the TFR," Checchio said. "Blairstown Airport has a glider club where they give people biplane rides on the weekend. That is also grounded. Any type of sightseeing flights are grounded as well."

The 35th Annual QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning is one of the biggest events around. It is a three-day event held July 28-30 with up to 100 hot air balloons, concerts, crafters, vendors and more.

"We heard that Solesburg-Hunterdon Airport was given assurance that given the enormous impact the balloon festival has, that even if Trump is in town, the balloon festival will be allowed to go on. I am hoping that’s correct."

With Trump expected to be in Bedminster for 18 days, the impact to the local airport community is looking grim.

Checchio noted when President Obama vacationed in Nantucket there was a similar issue, however, there weren't as many airports affected as with Bedminster.

To try and alleviate this issue, Congressman Leonard Lance sent the U.S. Secret Service a letter on June 29 asking for their help in lessening the economic and operational burden on airports, operators and small businesses in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania region.

Lance asked for the USSS to implement a similar program which is in place in Maryland when Trump is in Washington, D.C. This would have pilots pre-screened ahead of time so that they can continue flying when the TFR alert is issued.

Here is Lance's Letter:

Dear Director Alles:

We are writing to request your assistance in lessening the economic and operational burden that the current Bedminster Presidential Temporary Flight Restriction (POTUS TFR) poses to airports, operators and small businesses in the New Jersey and Pennsylvania region. Specificallt, we urge the United States Secret Service (USSS) to work with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) as well as general aviation stakeholders to implement enhanced egress/ingress procedures for general aviation airports located within the 10 nautical mile (NM) inner core of Bedminster POTUS TFR.

As you are aware, more than 20 general aviation airports are located within Bedminster POTUS TFR area. There are also approximately 60 fixed-base operators (FBOs), including 28 flight schools and 10 flying clubs. The total economic output of these general aviation stakeholders and small businesses exceeds $2.4 billion combined annually. Most of these general aviation businesses rely on the summer flying and tourism season to generate sales and keep them afloat during the off-season. The Bedminster POTUS TFR potentially jeopardizes these small businesses and hurts local economics.

Somerset Airport and Solberg-Hunterdon Airport, for example, are forced to shut down because they are located within a 10 NM no-fly inner core of a Bedminster POTUS TFR. Both airports are privately owned and have operated as public use airports since 1940s offering a full range of aircraft services, flight schooling, on-demand charter operations and maintenance facilities. Andover Flight Academy, a small business, is unable to provide weekend classes that have kept them in business since 1987. Skydive Jersey and Van Sant Airport are also among the many small businesses that have been negatively affected.

We believe the USSS, in conjunction with the FAA, the TSA and other involved parties should establish security measures that balance the security needs of the President while also minimizing the Bedminster POTUS TFRs impact on the local economy and businesses in our home states. We respectfully suggest implementing general aviation security enhanced egress/ingress procedures similar to the Maryland Three (MD-3) Program, in place near Washington, D.C. which allows properly vetted private pilots to fly to and from airports located in a security-sensitive area.

By establishing flexible enhanced security procedures, we believe the USSS and other federal stakeholders can meet the important responsibilities of protecting our Commander-in-Chief while minimizing the negative impact on the local economics and small businesses. We hope you will work closely with us on this important issue.

• See Related: Bedminster Awarded Trump Protection Relief

(Image via Richard)

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