- The claim that United Airlines is offering free ticket changes to passengers who do not want to fly to the newly renamed Donald J. Trump International Airport (formerly Palm Beach International Airport) is still under investigation.
- The rumor stemmed from a report that popular travel blog Live and Let’s Fly published on July 16, 2026, citing an internal memorandum. The alleged memo supposedly empowers booking agents to offer even exchanges to Fort Lauderdale or Miami international airports for passengers refusing to fly to the airport in Palm Beach.
- “That internal message was poorly worded and not accurate,” United told Snopes in an emailed statement. “Our policy doesn’t allow for changes because of an airport’s name or three letter code.”
- United didn’t deny the authenticity of the internal memo; therefore, given the contradiction between the company’s emailed statement to Snopes and the content of the memorandum, we have left this claim unrated.
- We will update this report if additional information surfaces. We have sent United follow-up questions and reached out to Matthew Klint, who writes Live and Let’s Fly. We await responses from both.
After Palm Beach International Airport was renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport on July 9, 2026, a rumor spread online that United Airlines was offering free ticket exchanges to passengers who do not want to fly to the renamed Florida airport. The airport’s three-letter code also switched from PBI to DJT.
For example, one X post read (archived), “United Airlines is offering free flight changes to passengers seeking to avoid the newly renamed President Donald J. Trump International Airport in Florida.”
(X)
Reputable news media outlets such as The Hill, which covers national politics in Washington, D.C., and financial news websites including Moneywise and FOX Business also shared the claim, prompting several Snopes readers to search our website and email us, seeking more information.
The rumor stemmed from a post that travel blog Live and Let’s Fly published on July 16, 2026 (archived). Its author, Matthew Klint, said he obtained an internal memorandum that allows United’s booking agents to offer an “even exchange” to passengers asking not to fly to DJT, suggesting instead a reroute free of charge to Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (code FLL) or Miami International Airport (MIA).
In an emailed statement to Snopes, a spokesperson for United did not deny that the memo is real but said it is “poorly worded and not accurate.”
“United customers are able to make changes to a ticket without a fee for many reasons,” the statement read. “However, our policy doesn’t allow for changes because of an airport’s name or three letter code.”
We contacted Klint to ask how he obtained the memo. We also sent United follow-up questions asking how much agency individual booking agents have in terms of changing passengers’ tickets and whether they may be able to effect such changes due to public outcry surrounding the airport’s new name.
Given the contradiction between United’s emailed statement to Snopes and the content of the internal memo, which the spokesperson did not deny is real, we have left this claim unrated until we receive more information.
One quote from the memo Klint reported purportedly read:
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).
Another quote appeared to be a script suggestion for booking agents:
I understand that you’d rather not fly to this airport anymore. We can look at nearby airports like Fort Lauderdale or Miami instead. Is that an acceptable alternative?
It was not clear what data the internal message’s author may have used to outline guidelines and a script to address ticket change requests from passengers wishing to avoid the renamed airport, or if such requests had occurred since the airport’s rebranding. We put these questions to United and will update this report if it responds.
For further reading, in May 2026, Snopes investigated a claim that Trump would profit from the airport’s name change.
Do you have more information on this topic? Send us a message.
