Melania Trump's flights cost taxpayers nearly $700,000 in 2017

The travel costs come from while she was living in New York to allow their son to finish the school term

First Lady Melania Trump's travel when she lived apart from the President cost taxpayers close to $700,000. (Getty)

First Lady Melania Trump’s flights to and from New York cost taxpayers $675,000 (£475,400) in 2017.

From inauguration until April 2017, the First Lady travelled on Air Force flights between Washington DC, Florida, and New York - where she had stayed during the first months of President Donald Trump’s term in order to allow their son Barron to finish his school term.

"The trips mentioned in this story are examples of [Ms Trump] juggling dual roles — putting her son first while also fulfilling some of her duties as First Lady,” said Stephanie Grisham, a spokesperson for Ms Trump.

The Wall Street Journal had reported there was no evidence Ms Trump’s travel during the time was improper.

According to the paper’s review of military records, the Air Force detail “made at least 19 trips to LaGuardia Airport in New York and nine trips to Florida’s Palm Beach International Airport to drop off or pick up [Ms] Trump.”

The flights that carried Ms Trump on board cost $340,355. Some trips had to made without passengers, however, in order to accommodate the First Lady’s schedule and security requirements.

Those crew-only trips cost $336,299 in that four-month period.

The types of planes that were used by Ms Trump, her security detail, and staff typically cost approximately $10,075 per hour to operate.

Air Force spokeswoman Erika Yepsen did not comment on the First Lady’s flights specifically, but told the newspaper: “The Air Force works diligently to ensure it acts as a good steward of taxpayers’ money while meeting the requirements of every mission it’s assigned regardless of where the mission occurs, what the mission is or who the mission supports.”

It certainly costs less to the taxpayer to transport the First Lady than it does the President, but Ms Trump’s travel is notable given that recent First Ladies have not lived apart from the President for significant amounts of time while in office.

Most have not had young children, either.

As a comparison, former First Lady Michelle Obama’s travel cost Americans $2.8m over her eight years in the White House, which averaged to around $350,000 per year.