NORAD Says Violations Occurred During Three February Weekends

At least 27 pilots have violated VIP TFRs during visits by President Donald Trump to Mar-a-Lago in the early days of his Presidency, according to NORAD and the FAA.

The McClatchy news service reports that, according to the FAA, there were 10 TFR incursions during the weekend of February 3-5, three during February 10-12, and 14 during a visit the President's Day weekend.

NORAD says that at least seven of the pilots who violated the TFR during the President's Day weekend, and three more on the two earlier weekends, were intercepted by military aircraft.

The TFRs effectively close Lantana airport when Trump visits his Florida home. The airport normally sees about 200 operations per day, and local businesses have implored the Secret Service to "tweak" the rules so they can conduct business to some extent when Trump is in town. The Secret Service has said it will look at the situation after it saw how things went early on, but no revisions or further comment has been forthcoming.

The President's visits to Palm Beach County cost the county about $60,000 per day in overtime pay for sheriff's deputies, according to Sheriff Ric Bradshaw.

Trump spokesman Sean Spicer has said that the security of President Trump, or any president for that matter, is the purview of the Secret Service, "so I'm going to leave it up to the Secret Service to decide what security measures and steps are taken to protect the President."

(Image from file)

FMI: www.whitehouse.gov, www.secretservice.gov