Written by: George Bennett, Palm Beach Post

Palm Beach County’s Lantana airport — forced to effectively shut down whenever President Donald Trump visits Mar-a-Lago — is inching a little closer to getting some relief from the federal government.

A spending bill approved by a House Appropriations subcommittee this week includes $3.5 million to reimburse airports and related businesses that are affected by the temporary flight restrictions imposed when Trump visits Palm Beach or his golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

The money, which would be available in the budget year that begins Oct. 1, has not been approved by the full committee or the full House or by the U.S. Senate. The bill that moved forward this week does not specify the criteria for distributing the money.

“It’s a start and at least it’s a recognition,” said U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, D-West Palm Beach, whose district includes the Lantana airport and Mar-a-Lago. She has worked on the issue with U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance, R-N.J., whose district includes two small airports near Trump’s Bedminster club, Solberg and Somerset, that face similar restrictions.

“We’re hopeful that it will make its way through the legislative process. It’s a bipartisan effort and it’s the right thing to do,” said Jim Coon, the senior vice president for government affairs with the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. AOPA represents more than 300,000 pilots, including more than 26,00o in Florida.

The Secret Service prohibits flights in and out of the Lantana airport — officially known as Palm Beach County Park Airport — whenever the president is in town because the airport is less than seven miles from Mar-a-Lago and lacks the security measures that are in place at Palm Beach International Airport and larger facilities.

Stellar Aviation President Jonathan Miller, whose company runs operations at Lantana airport, estimated in January that he’d lost about $500,000 during Trump’s visits. Trump has made 17 visits to Palm Beach as president, covering at least a portion of 71 days.

Frankel called the burden on local businesses “terribly unfair.” Protecting the president, she said, is “definitely the responsibility of the nation and not a small group of people in Lantana, Florida or (Bedminster), New Jersey.”

An amendment added to a Federal Aviation Administration bill that passed the House this year directs the FAA to study the possibility of allowing limited operations at Lantana and the two New Jersey airports during presidential visits.

“From what the Secret Service showed me, the likelihood of them easing those restrictions I don’t think is great,” Frankel said. “But we’re asking them to take a look at it.”