Ron DeSantis's Cessna Citation Latitude flies from Pinellas Park to Tallahassee in 39 minutes

Ron DeSantis's Cessna Citation Latitude, tail number N943FL, landed at Tallahassee International Airport at 02:48 UTC on Tuesday, October 27, 2026. The aircraft departed St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport (KPIE) in Pinellas Park at 02:09 UTC, making the trip in 39 minutes. The aircraft is registered to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and is used for executive transport.

The flight covered a great-circle distance of 172 nautical miles, or 198 miles, at an average ground speed of 264 knots. The highest altitude seen was 22,025 feet, and the top ground speed reached 416 knots. Based on our estimates, the flight burned about 150 US gallons of fuel and produced roughly 1,442 kg of CO2, about the same as driving a car 3,570 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 the aircraft's home base, Tallahassee International Airport. In the 30 days before this flight, N943FL made 17 landings at Tallahassee, with the last one on October 23, four days earlier. The aircraft's usual destinations include Miami, Orlando, Tampa, and Jacksonville. Recent flights by the same owner include a Tallahassee to Pinellas Park trip on October 26, a Fort Myers to Tallahassee leg on October 23, and a Miami to Tallahassee flight on October 22.

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, 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.

The departure from St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport is notable because it is one of the aircraft's most common destinations, with four landings there in the tracked window. The flight to Tallahassee comes as no public event has been announced at the arrival airport. If Ron DeSantis was aboard, the timing would align with a return to the capital after a day in the Pinellas Park area.

The aircraft spent about seven hours on the ground in Pinellas Park before departing. The previous tracked landing there was on October 26. The flight used 6 percent of the aircraft's range. St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport has a 9,730-foot runway at an elevation of 11 feet. Tallahassee International Airport's longest runway is 8,000 feet at an elevation of 81 feet.

The aircraft is a 2019 model with serial number 680A0234. It is powered by Safran Arrius 2B2 turbofans and has a maximum takeoff weight of 30,800 pounds. The Cessna Citation Latitude is the best-selling Cessna jet and features a flat floor and G5000 avionics. The state jet costs Florida taxpayers approximately $1.2 million annually in financing.

In the 30 days before this flight, N943FL flew 40 flights totaling 29.3 hours in the air. Those flights covered about 9,201 nautical miles and produced an estimated 64,845 kg of CO2. The longest leg in that period was from Delray Beach to Philadelphia on October 6, covering 836 nautical miles. The aircraft used 22 different airports in one country.

During the 2024 presidential campaign, the FDLE Citation Latitude was deployed to New Hampshire, Iowa, and other early primary states at the same time as DeSantis campaign events. This raised transparency questions about whether state aviation resources were subsidizing political travel. Ethics complaints and FOIA requests for flight logs followed.