United Airlines is planning to let passengers change flights without a fee if they do not want to land at President Donald J. Trump International Airport in Florida. The guidance points travelers to Fort Lauderdale Airport or Miami International Airport as substitutes, while the airport’s code is expected to stay PBI until Aug. 18.
Danamarie McNicholl reported that the official renaming of Palm Beach International Airport was marked by Eric Trump landing the first aircraft and saying he was proud of the name change. That gives United’s memo an immediate passenger-facing consequence: people booked into the airport can ask for another Florida arrival before the code switches to DJT.
United Airlines memo
The internal memo tells reservation agents, “If a customer does not want to fly to the airport, use your empowerment to offer acceptable alternatives such as Fort Lauderdale Airport (FLL) or Miami International Airport (MIA).” It also gives agents this script: “I understand that you’d rather not fly to this airport anymore. We can look at nearby airports like Fort Lauderdale or Miami instead. Is that an acceptable alternative?”
Fort Lauderdale is roughly 45 miles south of West Palm Beach, and Miami is about 72 miles away. For passengers, that turns the decision into a routing choice rather than a fee issue: a traveler asking out of President Donald J. Trump International Airport can seek a different arrival airport instead of paying to rework the trip.
United response
United told Business that “the message was poorly worded and not accurate.” The company also said, “United customers are able to make changes to a ticket without a fee for many reasons.”
United added, “However, our policy doesn’t allow for changes because of an airport’s name or three letter code.” That leaves the memo and the company’s stated policy in direct conflict, even as the airport transition from Palm Beach International Airport to President Donald J. Trump International Airport continues through the pending DJT code change.
For now, the practical step for affected travelers is simple: if the new airport name changes their plans, they can ask United about alternate arrivals in Fort Lauderdale or Miami and press for the fee-free change described in the memo. The airline’s own statement says that policy does not extend to a name change alone, so the customer-facing answer will likely depend on how United handles those requests before Aug. 18.
