Travelers booked to fly into Florida’s newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport may be able to switch to another South Florida airport without paying a fare difference, according to an internal United Airlines memo.
The memo, first reported by Live and Let’s Fly, instructs reservation agents to offer some customers alternate destinations if they no longer want to fly into the airport, which was officially renamed from Palm Beach International Airport on July 9.
“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),” the memo says.
Agents are also provided with suggested language for handling those requests:
“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?”
Under the guidance, eligible customers can be rebooked to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport or Miami International Airport as an even exchange, meaning no additional fare would be charged if an alternate flight is available.
The airport’s new name took effect after legislation signed earlier this year by Gov. Ron DeSantis became law.
United is also updating its reservation systems to reflect the change. While the airport will continue using the PBI code for now, the memo says the International Air Transport Association is expected to change the airport code to DJT on Aug. 18.
The guidance appears to give reservation agents flexibility to accommodate travelers who object to flying into the airport because of its new name, with changes subject to flight availability.
