FAA announces temporary restrictions on drone flights in New Jersey following influx of sightings

The Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary flight restrictions prohibiting drone flights over parts of New Jersey following an influx of sightings in recent weeks.

The notice, which expires Jan. 17, 2025, said drone operations in support of national defense, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue or disaster response missions are not included in the restrictions.

Commercial drone operations are allowed with a valid statement of work, but there must be an approved special governmental interest airspace waiver and all applicable FAA regulations must be followed.

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House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., said the White House, and more broadly the U.S. government, does not seem concerned about the increased sightings in New Jersey and other northeastern states.

“Look, I’m the speaker of the House. I have the exact same frustrations that you do and all of us do. We don’t have the answers. The administration is not providing them,” Johnson said in a Fox News appearance.

The speaker said he set up a meeting last week with officials from the Department of Defense, the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI, and “the answers are not forthcoming.”

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On Saturday, Biden administration officials hosted a call addressing concerns surrounding the recent drone sightings.

Representatives from the FBI, the FAA, the National Security Council, the DHS and the DoD attended the call. 

An FBI official said the agency has received 5,000 tips since the first mysterious drone was seen flying above New Jersey in November, but of those 5,000 tips, fewer than 100 warranted further investigation.

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The FBI official added that investigators have found no evidence of large-scale unmanned drone activity despite the recent uptick.

“We’re doing our best to find the origin of that specific … those drone activities,” the official said. “But I think there has been a slight overreaction.”