Trump Airport Name Change Upsets Flyers, United Airlines Offers a Way Around It

United Airlines is reportedly preparing to offer free flight changes to passengers who don’t want to fly through the newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport.

United Airlines is reportedly getting ready to let passengers switch flights at no cost if they don’t want to fly through the newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport. The airport, previously known as Palm Beach International, was officially renamed in the president’s honour last week. This is just the latest addition to a growing list of landmarks now carrying Trump’s name since he returned to the White House in January 2025.

According to the Daily Beast, which cites an internal memo obtained by Live And Let’s Fly, United plans to let travellers who’d rather avoid the rebranded airport switch to nearby Fort Lauderdale or Miami instead, without paying the fees normally attached to changing a flight.

This kind of accommodation isn’t standard practice for airlines. Carriers typically don’t allow free destination changes simply because a passenger dislikes an airport’s name. But in this case, United appears to view the renaming as controversial enough to warrant an exception, based on the reporting from Live And Let’s Fly.

The memo reportedly tells reservation agents to use their discretion in these situations. It reads, “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).”

Once a customer agrees, the Daily Beast reports that agents are instructed to process the switch as an even exchange, meaning no added cost to the traveller.

The rebrand of the Palm Beach airport reportedly cost $5.5 million. Officials framed the change as a tribute to Florida, the state Trump has adopted as home and where his Mar-a-Lago resort is located.

One Instagram commenter wrote, “FYI: I will never ever in 100,000 million years use this airport ever again,” responding to the page’s announcement about the transition. Another commenter said, “Flying out of Fort Lauderdale next week! Thanks!” while a third warned, “Watch the dip in passenger numbers.”

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