President Trump’s planned attendance at the World Cup in East Rutherford, NJ, this weekend will mean a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) across large swaths of the New York metropolitan area — and plenty of inconvenienced rich people are now scrambling because they can’t fly privately.
A TFR will be in effect Friday and Sunday from 2-8 p.m. each day, according to a memo reviewed by The Post.
That means anyone hoping to helicopter to the Spain v Argentina match or take a private jet in or out of Teterboro is out of luck. Some sources tell me they are now forced to decide between flying off-peak hours, taking a car or ferry to MetLife or scrapping their plans entirely.
“Flying in to Teteboro for the game when you have to land at noon and wait in a lounge three hours for a game to start loses its extravagance,” said one source set to fly in from Los Angeles who originally planned to go straight to Sunday’s 3 p.m. game.
He noted that the whole point of shelling out to fly private is to avoid inconvenience. Adding insult to injury: Ahead of the final, the local cost to charter a helicopter or jet has spiked dramatically. Landing at nearby airports the day of the World Cup final adds a special event fee of up to $20,000 per jet and $5,300 per helicopter.
Even after the game, all private travel will be grounded until the president leaves the area.
And the TFR is not just impacting those going to the World Cup, it’s also hitting New Yorkers making their weekly summer exodus to the Hamptons, including by seaplane. One source griped, “I now have to blow up my day and leave the office at noon Friday” to be able to fly out of the city.
A TFR made by the Secret Service typically shuts down airspace within a 30-mile radius of the president. Every aircraft is subject to restrictions but commercial flights are often given pre-approved routes around or through the TFR zone, while private aviation is essentially grounded. Pilots who ignore the TFR can be fined, intercepted or even legally shot down.
White House Press Secretary Karolien Leavitt confirmed Trump’s appearance at MetLife stadium during a briefing Thursday.
Of course, the president’s schedule is always subject to change — particularly amid the ongoing war in Iran. But aviation sources say they’ve been warned.
“It seems like it’s happening,” one said, noting the restrictions could result in millions of dollars in lost revenue for the aviation industry.