Gen. Gregory Guillot, commander of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, attributed the surge of more than 20 airspace violations near President Donald Trump‘s Mar-a-Lago estate to civilian pilots, urging better adherence to flight restrictions.
NORAD, which is tasked with monitoring and defending North American airspace, has expressed growing concerns over the “excessive” number of airspace violations near Mar-a-Lago since Trump’s second presidency began in January.
Over 20 violations have occurred in just two months, with the most recent incident on March 9, which involved the interception of a civilian plane by F-16 fighter jets while Trump was finishing a round of golf at his West Palm Beach golf course.
“Twice in the past 48 hours, F-16 fighter jets from the Continental U.S. NORAD region responded to a general aviation aircraft over Palm Beach, FL, violating the Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR). Pilots, please check NOTAMs! #WeHaveTheWatch,” NORAD’s account posted on X.
Following the rise in violations, NORAD called on civilian pilots to familiarize themselves with mandatory flying guidelines.
In a statement regarding the March 9 incident, Guillot emphasized the importance of adhering to temporary flight restriction, or TFR, procedures.
“Adherence to TFR procedures is essential to ensure flight safety, national security, and the security of the President,” Guillot said.
He added, “The procedures are not optional, and the excessive number of recent TFR violations indicates that many civil aviators are not reviewing Notices to Airmen (NOTAMs) before each flight as required by the FAA. This has led to multiple responses by NORAD fighter aircraft to guide offending aircraft out of TFR.”
The March 9 interception involved F-16 jets deploying flares to communicate with the offending aircraft. Although the flares can be seen from the ground, NORAD assured the public that they burn out quickly and do not pose a risk to people on the ground.
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