The media has quoted Witham Field Airport Manager, George Stokus, as stating “The airport has been taking on 100 to 150 additional private passenger planes each weekend Trump has come to Mar-a-Lago because of flight restrictions imposed several airports in Palm Beach County“ and the “airport is getting at least 100 more aircraft than normal this time of year“, making one believe that President Trump is the reason for increased air traffic noise over Stuart, Florida.

But our records of flight traffic indicate this isn’t the case. As we wrote here, there are more loud aircraft flying into and out of Witham Field in Stuart, but there are fewer aircraft, overall:

• March 11 and 12: When no VIP Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) was in place, we recorded 111 and 72 flights overhead on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
• March 18 and 19: With a TFR in place, we recorded 45 and 59 flights overhead on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

We’ve determined that the cause of the noise is flight school airplanes which are suddenly and inexplicably permitted to fly continuously and seemingly unregulated, 7 days per week, over western Martin County.

What Do We Mean by “Continuously and Seemingly Unregulated”?

There are days where we can’t piece together 10 minutes of quiet time. Read that literally and not figuratively. Directly over our homes. All Day. Every. Single. Day. For 15+ years, we’ve lived in relative peace and, suddenly and without explanation, there is, literally, no reprieve from the noise.

What Can You Do About Witham Field Airport Noise?

Contact your County Commissioner and tell him or her that this is unacceptable. Find Martin County Commissioner contact information here.