/ˈdoʊnʌts ɪn ði er/ noun phrase
Definition: Circling above the West Palm Beach Airport while waiting for Air Force 1 to arrive or take off. Unfasten your seat belt. You’re going be in the air for a while.
Etymology
A visual and technical metaphor describing the circular flight path (the “donut”) recorded on radar during a Presidential Movement (PM). When the President is at the Mar-a-Lago Club, the FAA imposes a Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR). This frequently forces commercial and private aircraft into extended holding patterns, resembling a series of stacked donuts in the sky.
Usage
Context: Used primarily by frequent travelers, pilots, and residents of West Palm Beach to describe a specific type of travel delay. It implies a resigned acceptance of a long wait, as the airspace remains locked until the “Special Air Mission” is complete.
In a sentence: We were ten minutes from landing when the pilot announced Air Force One was taxiing; looks like we’re doing donuts in the air for the next hour.