United Airlines is offering free flight changes to customers who don’t want to fly into Florida’s newly renamed airport, honoring President Trump, according to an internal memo.
The guidance issued by the airline appears aimed at customers who are offended by the renaming of Palm Beach International Airport to President Donald J. Trump International Airport, and wish to travel to another airport for that reason alone.
United Airlines is reportedly allowing some passengers to change their flights for free if they don't want to land at Florida's newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
— Fox News (@FoxNews) July 17, 2026
An internal memo obtained by Live And Let's Fly instructed reservation agents to offer… pic.twitter.com/Grzdjq6lXz
United Airlines just announced a plan to offer customers free flight changes to avoid landing at Donald J. Trump International Airport in Florida. pic.twitter.com/YKDzc4d6O7
— Headquarters (@HQNewsNow) July 17, 2026
"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 reads.
United Airlines denied how the memo was interpreted, saying that "the message was poorly worded and not accurate."
"United customers are able to make changes to a ticket without a fee for many reasons," a United spokesperson said. "However, our policy doesn’t allow for changes because of an airport’s name or three letter code."
The new guidance, however, appears to give flight agents a level of discretion that would allow such a change to be made for that reason.
The renaming of Palm Beach International Airport has drawn sharp criticism from figures across the left and beyond, as thousands of messages flooded in from angry customers, some vowing never to fly there again. The airport, located just five miles from President Trump’s Palm Beach home, Mar-a-Lago, also received several threats over the change, with angry customers seemingly viewing the move as glorifying a leader they see as primarily driven by power and praise.
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