- Prohibited Area P-75 takes effect at 0901 UTC on October 29, 2026 and covers a 1 nautical mile circle centered on Trump Tower.
- The ban runs from the surface to 1,000 feet AGL and its time of designation is continuous, so it applies whether or not the President is in New York.
- There is no exemption list: under 14 CFR 73.83, only the Secret Service can authorize an aircraft to enter P-75.
The Federal Aviation Administration has created a permanent no-fly zone over midtown Manhattan. Prohibited Area P-75 takes effect at 0901 UTC on October 29, 2026, and bars all aircraft from the surface up to 1,000 feet above ground level inside a circle with a 1 nautical mile radius centered on Trump Tower.
The FAA published the final rule on July 31, 2026, at 91 FR 48255, under Docket No. FAA-2025-2635. It adds Section 73.95 to 14 CFR Part 73, the same body of rules that holds P-56 over the White House and P-40 over Camp David. This is not a temporary flight restriction that expires. It is codified airspace with no end date.
The shape matters as much as the size. P-75 is a 1 NM circle centered at latitude 40 deg 45′ 46″ N, longitude 073 deg 58′ 30″ W, with a flat edge cut across the southeast side that parallels the East River. The boundary begins at 40 deg 45′ 52″ N, 073 deg 57′ 11″ W, runs counterclockwise along the arc to 40 deg 44′ 48″ N, 073 deg 58′ 09″ W, then closes with a straight line back to the starting point.
The using agency is the United States Secret Service in Washington, DC. The time of designation is listed in the rule as continuous, meaning the restriction applies 24 hours a day, every day, whether or not the President is in New York. That is the single biggest practical difference between P-75 and the rolling VIP restrictions pilots have dealt with for the past decade.
The Secret Service asked the FAA for the prohibited area on September 16, 2025. A month later, on October 20, 2025, the FAA issued a Special Security Instruction under 14 CFR 99.7 that temporarily shut down flight operations near the residence. P-75 converts that stopgap into permanent regulation. The FAA proposed the rule on April 30, 2026, at 91 FR 23187, received exactly two public comments, both supportive, and adopted the proposal without a single change.
A second final rule published the same day, at 91 FR 48249, amends the New York Class B airspace to carve P-75 out of Class B Areas A and E. Both rules share the October 29, 2026 effective date.
What P-75 Actually Covers
One nautical mile is 6,076 feet, or about 23 Manhattan blocks. Drawn from Fifth Avenue at 56th Street, that circle reaches from roughly the mid-30s streets up to the upper 70s, and stretches from the Manhattan waterfront near the Hudson across to the East River shoreline. The ceiling is low by design. At 1,000 feet AGL, P-75 sits underneath the airliner traffic feeding LaGuardia, Newark and JFK, and squarely inside the band where helicopters and drones actually operate.
The FAA said the size came out of direct discussions with the Secret Service. The agency specifically carved out the piece of airspace over the East River that falls within 1 NM of Trump Tower so helicopter traffic on that corridor can keep running.
There Is No Exemption List
P-75 contains no standing carve-out for police, air ambulance, media or survey flights. Under 14 CFR 73.83, no person may operate an aircraft within a prohibited area unless the using agency grants authorization. For P-75 that agency is the Secret Service, and permission is the only lawful way in.
The FAA did identify who was flying there before the October 2025 security instruction: law enforcement helicopters, air ambulance aircraft, and unmanned aircraft systems. Those three groups are not exempted by the rule; they are the operators it affects. A medevac crew that needs to reach a scene inside the circle now depends on a Secret Service clearance, not on the nature of the mission.
How P-75 Reshapes New York Class B Airspace
Midtown Manhattan already sat under some of the most tightly managed airspace in the country. Class B Area A extends from the surface to 7,000 feet MSL within a 6 mile radius of the LaGuardia VOR, which covers Trump Tower. Class B Area E starts at 1,500 feet MSL over the same ground. The companion rule strips P-75 out of both descriptions.
The effect is a change of custody. Below 1,000 feet AGL over those blocks, the airspace stops being Class B that a controller can clear you into and becomes prohibited airspace only the Secret Service can open. Pilots used to negotiating New York airspace with ATC, including through regional disruptions like the flight restrictions the FAA extended at Newark Liberty International Airport, should not expect a clearance here at any price.
Helicopter Tours and the River Corridors
New York’s sightseeing and charter helicopter business runs on the Hudson River and East River exclusions, the low-altitude slots underneath Class B governed by the Special Flight Rules Area in 14 CFR Part 93, Subpart W. Both corridors survive P-75 largely intact, and that was deliberate.
The FAA wrote that it sought minimal impact on operations routinely conducted along the Hudson and East River corridors and constructed the area to avoid typical aircraft routes. The flat southeast edge is the mechanism: it pulls the boundary off the East River so traffic between the banks, where the Class B floor sits at 1,100 feet MSL up to the north end of Roosevelt Island, keeps flowing. One commenter praised the rule for preserving the East River VFR corridors.
What changes for tour operators is the margin for error. Drifting a few blocks inland off the river at low altitude is no longer a controller conversation, it is a prohibited area incursion.
Drone Operators Face the Tightest Squeeze
Unmanned aircraft are named in the rule as one of the three categories operating in the area before the 2025 shutdown, and they have the least room to adapt. A Part 107 remote pilot cannot use LAANC to get into prohibited airspace, because LAANC only issues authorizations for controlled airspace around airports.
Because P-75 runs from the surface, there is no legal altitude for a drone inside the circle. A rooftop inspection, a real estate shoot on East 57th Street or a news drone covering a protest all fall inside it. Recreational flyers are bound by the same prohibition as Part 107 operators.
What a Violation Costs
The FAA can pursue civil penalties and certificate action up to and including revocation. Where airspace is designated national defense airspace, 49 U.S.C. 46307 makes a knowing or willful violation punishable by a fine, up to one year in prison, or both, and up to five years for a second or subsequent offense.
There is also the immediate operational response. Intrusions near protected sites draw law enforcement helicopters and, in some cases, a military intercept, followed by a landing at a designated airport and an interview. Anyone who has watched the FAA clamp down and later lift flight restrictions so commercial airline schedules could resume knows how long the paperwork tail runs.
What to Do Before October 29
Three concrete steps for anyone flying in the New York area:
- Update your charts and apps after the effective date and confirm P-75 is drawn. A 1 NM circle over midtown is small on screen and easy to miss at a zoomed-out scale.
- Rebuild any route or tour profile that passes within 1 NM of Fifth Avenue and 56th Street below 1,000 feet AGL. Move the leg over the water rather than trimming the margin.
- If your operation genuinely needs access, start the Secret Service authorization conversation now, not on the day of the flight. There is no ATC shortcut.
Presidential movement has produced short-notice closures for years, from temporary VIP airspace restrictions at Missoula airport to New Jersey and Florida, while carriers keep reshaping the region’s capacity, as when Delta reduced its New York schedules without ending service. P-75 is different in kind: it does not come and go with the motorcade. Once October 29 arrives, that circle over midtown is on the chart to stay.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Trump Tower no-fly zone take effect?
Prohibited Area P-75 becomes effective at 0901 UTC on October 29, 2026. The FAA published the final rule on July 31, 2026 at 91 FR 48255 under Docket No. FAA-2025-2635. A companion rule amending the New York Class B airspace, published at 91 FR 48249, shares the same effective date.
How big is Prohibited Area P-75 and how high does it go?
P-75 is a circle with a 1 nautical mile radius centered at latitude 40 deg 45′ 46″ N, longitude 073 deg 58′ 30″ W, with a flat edge cut on the southeast side that parallels the East River. It extends from the surface up to 1,000 feet above ground level. One nautical mile is about 23 Manhattan blocks.
Is P-75 only active when the President is in New York?
No. The rule lists the time of designation as continuous, so the prohibition applies 24 hours a day, every day, regardless of whether the President is at the residence. That is what separates P-75 from a temporary flight restriction, which switches on and off with presidential movement.
Are police or medevac helicopters exempt from P-75?
No. The rule contains no standing exemption. Under 14 CFR 73.83, no person may operate an aircraft within a prohibited area unless the using agency grants authorization, and for P-75 the using agency is the United States Secret Service. Law enforcement helicopters and air ambulance aircraft were among the operators flying there before the area closed.
Can I fly a drone near Trump Tower after October 29, 2026?
Not without Secret Service authorization. Because P-75 starts at the surface, there is no legal altitude for a drone inside the circle. LAANC cannot issue an authorization for prohibited airspace, and recreational flyers operating under the limited recreational exception are bound by the same prohibition as Part 107 remote pilots.
Does P-75 close the Hudson River or East River helicopter corridors?
No. The FAA said it built the area to minimize impact on helicopter operations routinely conducted along the Hudson and East River corridors and to avoid typical aircraft routes. The flat southeast edge deliberately pulls the boundary off the East River, where the Class B floor sits at 1,100 feet MSL up to the north end of Roosevelt Island.
What happens if a pilot flies into P-75 without permission?
The FAA can pursue civil penalties and certificate action up to revocation. Where airspace is designated national defense airspace, 49 U.S.C. 46307 makes a knowing or willful violation punishable by a fine, up to one year in prison, or both, rising to five years for a second or subsequent offense. Intrusions also draw an immediate law enforcement response.
Why did the FAA create P-75 instead of using a temporary restriction?
The Secret Service requested the prohibited area on September 16, 2025 to secure the President and the non-Governmental property under the Presidential Protection Assistance Act of 1976. The FAA issued a temporary Special Security Instruction on October 20, 2025, then proposed the permanent rule on April 30, 2026. Two comments were filed, both supportive, and the proposal was adopted unchanged.
