Ron DeSantis's Cessna Citation Latitude lands in Fort Myers after 286 nm flight from Tallahassee

Ron DeSantis's Cessna Citation Latitude, tail number N943FL, landed at Southwest Florida International Airport (KRSW) in Fort Myers at 16:08 UTC on Friday, October 23, 2026. The aircraft departed Tallahassee International Airport (KTLH) at 15:21 UTC, making the trip in 47 minutes. The flight covered a great-circle distance of 286 nautical miles, or 330 miles. The aircraft is registered to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and is used for executive transport.

The route from Tallahassee to Fort Myers spanned 286 nm at an average ground speed of 363 knots. The highest altitude seen was 23,000 feet, and the top ground speed reached 440 knots. Based on our estimates, the flight burned about 181 US gallons of fuel and produced roughly 1,742 kg of CO2, about the same as driving a car 4,313 miles. The Cessna Citation Latitude is a super midsize jet with a range of 2,700 nm, a ceiling of 45,000 feet, and seating for up to nine passengers.

This flight ended at an airport that had no tracked landings by N943FL in the 30 days before this flight. The aircraft's home base is Tallahassee International Airport, and its most common destinations in that window were Tallahassee (17 landings), Pensacola (5 landings), and Destin (3 landings). Before this flight, the aircraft had been on the ground for about 38 hours after its previous tracked landing at Tallahassee on October 22. Recent flights by the same owner include a Miami to Tallahassee leg on October 22, a Bainbridge to Miami trip on October 21, and a Boca Raton to Tallahassee flight on October 21.

Ron DeSantis was inaugurated as the 46th Governor of Florida on January 8, 2019, and re-elected in 2022 with a 19-point margin. A former U.S. Navy JAG officer and U.S. Representative (2013–2018), DeSantis launched and withdrew from the 2024 Republican presidential primary before endorsing Donald Trump. The state-owned Cessna has drawn scrutiny in the past, particularly during the 2024 presidential campaign, when flight tracking showed it in early primary states. Florida law prohibits candidates from using state aircraft solely for campaign purposes. reported that the aircraft's usual destinations include Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville.

If Ron DeSantis was aboard, the arrival at Southwest Florida International Airport on a Friday afternoon would fit a pattern of travel concentrated on Florida hubs. The aircraft's usual destinations on file include Miami International Airport, Orlando Executive Airport, Tampa International Airport, and Jacksonville International Airport. The flight adds to a record of 40 tracked movements in the 30 days before this flight for the FDLE aircraft, which costs Florida taxpayers approximately $1.2 million annually in financing.

The aircraft used 11 percent of its range on this flight. The departure airport, Tallahassee International, has a longest runway of 8,000 feet at an elevation of 81 feet. The arrival airport, Southwest Florida International, has a longest runway of 12,000 feet at an elevation of 30 feet. The distance from the aircraft's home base to the arrival airport is 270 nautical miles.

In the 30 days before this flight, the aircraft flew 40 flights totaling 29.9 hours in the air. Those flights covered about 9,497 nautical miles and used 22 airports in one country. The longest leg in that period was from Delray Beach to Philadelphia on October 6, covering 836 nautical miles. The estimated CO2 for those 30 days was about 66,152 kilograms.

The Cessna Citation Latitude has a top speed of Mach 0.80, or 446 knots. It typically seats eight passengers, with a maximum of nine. The aircraft is the best-selling Cessna jet and features a flat floor and G5000 avionics. The estimated fuel burn is 230 US gallons per hour.