https://www.businessinsider.com/259-air-force-crews-refueled-at-the-airport-trump-turnberry-2019-9
*259 military crews have refueled at Scotland's Prestwick Airport just this
year, according to a report from The New York Times. The struggling airport is
the closest one to President Donald Trump's Turnberry resort, which has had its
own share of financial woes.
*Forty Air Force crews have stayed at Trump Turnberry on overnight refueling
trips, Politico reported Thursday; the total number of troops that have stayed
there is unknown. Trump's golf resort is 54 miles away, a long drive for a tired
aircrew.
*Over the past two years, US military refueling at Prestwick has earned the
airport $17.3 million.
A report from The New York Times on Thursday found that from January to August
of this year, 259 military crews have refueled at Prestwick Airport, about a
40-minute drive from President Donald Trump's struggling Trump Turnberry Resort
in Scotland.
The airport, which Trump touted as an integral part to his resort when he bought
it in 2014, has been struggling to keep its doors open as of late. But a
refueling deal with the US government is keeping the airport afloat, to the tune
of $17.3 million since August of 2016.
The refueling deal was signed under President Barack Obama, but it came into
significant use under Trump, with the number of stopovers at Prestwick growing
from 156 in 2016, to 259 just through August of this year.
Two hundred and twenty of the stopovers have required overnight stays, The New
York Times reports, citing the Department of Defense, up from 75 in 2016.
Employees at Prestwick book hotel rooms for the military crews that arrive in
booked only if other hotels are unavailable or if customers specifically request
it," Michael Matheson, the Scottish transport minister, told Scottish Parliament
earlier this week.
But, according to Turnberry staffers who requested anonymity, a surprising
number of military personnel do.
Trump has denied any involvement in the military crews at his resort, tweeting,
"They have good taste!"
Defense Travel System, which gives personnel a $166 per diem for accommodations.
It's unclear how many military personnel have stayed at Trump Turnberry, but The
may have been refunded.
The Air Force has launched an investigation into the way airmen select lodging
in the wake of the scandal, which found that Trump Turnberry has also hosted 40
US Air Force crews since 2015, although it's unknown how many total military
members stayed there, or how many crews have lodged there since Trump came into
office in 2017, Politico reports.
Air Force secretary nominee Barbara Barrett told the Senate Armed Services
Committee that she would "take a look at" service members staying at Trump
properties, but didn't outright say she would prohibit the practice, Politico
reported.
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