President Donald J. Trump International Airport (DJT), formerly Palm Beach International (PBI) — Airport Guide 2026

🏢 The Terminal

DJT runs from a single terminal — a central hall with concourses branching off — and it is straightforwardly easy to use. No hubs, no single dominant carrier. American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest and United all operate substantial schedules to the Northeast, the Midwest and major connecting points, and Breeze Airways, Allegiant, Avelo and Frontier add a wide low-cost network from Concourses B and C, with some seasonal international flying to Canada and the Bahamas on Bahamasair, Air Canada and Porter.

The defining characteristic is the winter season. Traffic swells from roughly November to April as seasonal residents and their guests arrive, and eases sharply through the summer. If you are flying in or out during that peak window, book early and expect higher fares; the summer is genuinely quiet.

🛂 Border & Visa

DJT handles limited international arrivals — the majority of its traffic is domestic. International arrivals clear US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at the airport.

Visa Waiver / ESTA: Citizens of the UK, most EU countries, Japan, Australia and other VWP-eligible countries can visit the US for up to 90 days under ESTA. Apply online before you fly — approval is usually instant but can take up to 72 hours, and you cannot board without it.

Global Entry and APC kiosks are available at DJT for eligible travellers, which shortens the arrivals queue substantially. If you hold Global Entry, use it.

Nationals of countries not on the Visa Waiver list need a US visa issued in advance — CBP officers do not issue visas at the border.

🚆 Getting Into the City

The short distance to downtown — about 5 km — is DJT’s practical advantage. The most direct route for most people is a rideshare or taxi: roughly $15–20 and 10–15 minutes to central West Palm Beach, which is cheap enough that the math usually favours it over the bus unless you are comfortable with transit connections.

Palm Tran buses stop at the Level 1 outer curb. Route 2 (Congress Ave) is the airport connector: about 8 minutes to the downtown intermodal transit center, every 30 minutes through the day and every 45 minutes on Sundays. Route 44 (Belvedere Rd) also stops at the airport, but its own timetable puts the same trip at 18 to 20 minutes and runs it roughly hourly. The cash fare is $2, but the Tri-Rail connection costs nothing in either direction: Tri-Rail states that the airport-bound leg from its West Palm Beach station is free on Route 2 with a valid Tri-Rail fare shown to the driver, and that trips from the airport to that station need no purchased fare at all. From the station, Tri-Rail runs south through Fort Lauderdale to Miami.

Brightline is Florida’s higher-speed rail, with trains running between Orlando, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, Fort Lauderdale, Aventura and Miami. The West Palm Beach station is downtown, about 5 km from the airport — not at it. Reach the station by a short rideshare or Palm Tran bus. Brightline is fast and reliable for the Miami and Orlando corridors, but the two-leg trip from DJT (rideshare to station, then train) adds time and cost that a direct rideshare into West Palm Beach does not.

🛋️ Lounges

DJT does not have a Priority Pass lounge, so a Priority Pass card will not open a door here. It does have a pay-in lounge that anyone can use: the Escape Lounge — The Centurion Studio Partner, on Level 2 just past the entrance to the A and B concourses, open 5am to 7pm seven days a week, from $45 pre-booked or $60 walk-up, open to all travellers regardless of airline or ticket class. American Express Platinum Card Members get in free, as do Delta SkyMiles Reserve Card Members travelling on a Delta-marketed flight that day. The one airline club is the Delta Sky Club, also on Level 2.

The gate areas are pleasant enough — clean, not overcrowded outside the winter peak — so the lounge is a comfort rather than a necessity. If you do want it during the winter peak, pre-booking the Escape Lounge at $45 beats the $60 walk-up rate.

🍽️ Food Before You Fly

South Florida’s food identity is coastal and Caribbean-inflected, and it is honest about it. A few things are worth eating before you leave.

Stone crab claws are in season roughly October to May — served chilled, with mustard sauce, and they are the one thing South Florida genuinely does better than anywhere else in the country. If you are leaving in season, eat them.

Fresh Florida fish — grouper and mahi particularly — is available everywhere and consistently good along this coast. Key lime pie is the dessert: tart, pale yellow (not green — green key lime pie is food colouring), and worth eating once even if the airport versions are uneven.

The region’s Cuban community is substantial, and a Cuban sandwich with a cortadito coffee is an easy, cheap, and reliable lunch. The Brightline corridor south towards Miami takes you further into that tradition if you have time.

Prices are in US dollars. Tipping 18–20% in sit-down restaurants is the norm; skipping it is noticed.

💡 Worth Avenue, the Flagler Museum & the Layover Math

The name “Palm Beach” covers two distinct places: the mainland city of West Palm Beach, which is a real working city with a waterfront, restaurants and museums, and the island of Palm Beach across the Intracoastal Waterway, which is one of the wealthiest communities in the United States and functions largely as a winter residence for people who own multiple residences.

On the island: Worth Avenue is the famous luxury shopping street — Mediterranean Revival architecture, designer boutiques, and the hidden “Vias” (courtyard alleys running off the main street) that are genuinely worth a short detour even if you are not buying anything. The Flagler Museum (Whitehall) is more interesting than it sounds: the Gilded Age mansion built by Henry Flagler, the railroad magnate whose Florida East Coast Railway created the modern state of Florida — without Flagler, neither Miami nor Palm Beach as we know them exist. The museum covers that history and the building itself is extraordinary.

On the mainland: The Norton Museum of Art is the serious cultural institution, Clematis Street and Rosemary Square are where the dining and nightlife concentrate, and the waterfront is a short walk from downtown.

The layover math is straightforward given how close the airport is:

• Under 3 hours: stay airside.
• 4 hours: downtown West Palm Beach (waterfront, Clematis Street) is 10–15 minutes by rideshare, which leaves 90 minutes in the city with time to return for security.
• 5 hours: the island of Palm Beach — Worth Avenue and the Flagler Museum — adds another 10–15 minutes to reach but fits comfortably.
• Brightline-distance cities (Miami, Orlando): not layover sights from DJT.

🧭 Practical Notes

• New name, new code. The airport became President Donald J. Trump International Airport on 9 July 2026 under Florida law, and its FAA and ICAO identifiers changed to DJT and KDJT the same day; the IATA code changed from PBI to DJT on 18 August 2026 and now drives airline reservations, ticketing and baggage tags. Search DJT, or West Palm Beach, when you book. Ownership, governance and operations are unchanged.
• No rail at the airport. Palm Tran Route 2 reaches the downtown intermodal transit center in about 8 minutes for a $2 cash fare, and the Tri-Rail connection is free in both directions. A rideshare into West Palm Beach costs roughly $15–20 and takes 10–15 minutes — short enough that it is usually the sensible choice.
• Brightline is useful for the Miami and Orlando corridors but requires a separate rideshare leg to reach the downtown West Palm Beach station (~5 km from DJT).
• Strongly seasonal. November through April is busy and expensive — flights, hotels, restaurants. Summer is quiet and cheaper.
• International arrivals are limited. Most traffic is domestic; international arrivals clear CBP here, but the facility is not sized for a major international hub.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

📊 At a glance — DJT (formerly PBI) 2026