Opening, renamed Donald J. Trump International Airport
Donald J. Trump International Airport has officially replaced Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida.
United Airlines is denying reports that it will allow passengers to change destinations for free if they object to flying into Florida’s newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport.
Aviation industry blog Live And Let’s Fly published what is described as an internal memo to reservation agents telling customers who don’t want to fly to the airport, formerly known as Palm Beach International Airport, that they can offer alternative flights to places like Fort Lauderdale or Miami.
United told USA TODAY the message was poorly worded and inaccurate. United Airlines customers can change their tickets without any fees for a variety of reasons. However, (their) policy does not allow changes based on airport name or three-letter code.
The statement leaves room for agents to accommodate travelers under United’s existing change policy, but the airline said that objections to airport names or codes are not in themselves formal grounds for a fee-free change.
Excerpts from the memo published by Live And Let’s Fly said that if a customer did not wish to fly to the renamed airport, agents were instructed to “use their authority to suggest acceptable alternatives.”
United Airlines is offering an unrelated “air quality flexibility” waiver to passengers flying to any of the affected airports on the list through July 18.
