The Federal Aviation Administration is renaming three navigational points named after controversial Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The FAA says the points are near Palm Beach International Airport in Florida and are currently named “DONLD,” “TRMMP,” and “UFIRD.” The last one symbolizing his well known tagline, “you’re fired,” from his television series “The Apprentice.”
The FAA says the navigational points are imaginary waypoints in the sky that identify specific coordinates that pilots can enter and follow, and says the names are being changed because, “in general names are chosen that are non-controversial and relate to the area in which the fixes are located.”
For example in Cleveland, Ohio there is a navigational point named after hometown NBA star Lebron James. In Orlando, home to Disney World, there are points named after several Disney characters.
The names are usually suggested locally, but are reviewed and approved by the FAA to make sure they don’t accidentally spell something that could be interpreted as obscene.
The FAA says that because of the charting cycle, the updates could take several months to take effect. No word yet on what names will replace Trump.
