FAA issues temporary ban on drone flights in New Jersey

The Federal Aviation Administration has banned drone flights for a month over extensive portions of New Jersey after frequent sightings sparked anxiety in the state.

The ban, which was enacted Wednesday and runs until Jan. 17, covers 22 communities, including the populous cities of Jersey City, Elizabeth, Edison, Hamilton and Clifton. Federal authorities have previously said the drones, also referred to as unmanned aircraft systems, are not a public safety threat. However, officials and residents have been unsettled by their presence.

“At the request of federal security partners, the FAA published 22 Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) prohibiting drone flights over critical New Jersey infrastructure,” the FAA said in a statement to The Washington Post.

The temporary flight restrictions will not apply to drones with governmental purposes or commercial uses with a “valid statement of work” and special permissions, the agency said.

The FAA investigates all reported violations of temporary flight restrictions, according to its website. Those who are found in violation of the restrictions “can face sanctions ranging from warnings or fines to certificate suspensions or revocations,” depending on the circumstances.

On Tuesday, the FAA, Department of Homeland Security, FBI and Justice Department said in a joint statement that government investigators have received more than 5,000 reports of drone sightings but that only 100 leads were generated.

Authorities assessed that the sightings could include commercial drones operating lawfully, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as planes, helicopters and stars.

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“We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast,” the statement said.

President Joe Biden on Tuesday told reporters that the drones did not appear to be nefarious or present a danger. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy (D) told reporters Monday that drone-detecting devices in the state found “little to no evidence” of threatening activity.

Murphy expressed frustration with existing laws that prohibit state and local law enforcement from countering the drones, echoing what he had told Biden in a letter last week asking for more federal resources.

“It is extraordinary to me that a nation as great as ours and as powerful as ours has the deficiencies that we have now seen in living color as it relates to drone incursions,” Murphy said Monday.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) also asked the Biden administration to increase federal law enforcement in her state after “drone activity” caused the runways at Stewart Airfield in New Windsor, New York, to shut down for about an hour on Friday.

Federal officials have continued to assure the public that there is no reason to be alarmed. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday that there is “no question that people are seeing drones.”

“But I want to assure the American public that we are on it,” Mayorkas said. “We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities.”