Drone Activity Disrupts Operations at New Jersey Airports

Operations at two New Jersey airports resumed Tuesday after a temporary ground stop shut down the facilities due to drone activity reported in the area.

According to ABCNews.com, both Teterboro Airport in Bergen County and Newark Liberty International Airport were forced to halt operations Tuesday afternoon following two reports of drones seen near the New Jersey travel hubs.

Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Greg Martin said one report saw a drone around 3,500 feet above Teterboro Airport and a pilot landing at the facility told air traffic controllers he saw a drone within 30 feet of the plane on its final approach.

In addition to several flights being grounded until the area could be cleared, other service was held at their points of departure to slow the pace of incoming traffic.

The official Twitter account of the Newark airport revealed flight operations returned to normal around 6 p.m. local time Tuesday night.

Normal #EWR operations have resumed after arrivals were briefly held by the FAA due to reports of drone activity north of the airport earlier this evening. We’re coordinating with the FAA & fully supporting all federal law enforcement authorities as they investigate this incident

— Newark Liberty Airport (@EWRairport) January 23, 2019

Drones flying near airports are becoming a significant problem, as over 100 flights were canceled and hundreds of thousands of passengers were impacted in late December by the 36-hour shutdown of London’s Gatwick Airport due to illegal drone activity.

Flights into and out of Heathrow Airport were also temporarily delayed earlier this month due to reports in the area of drone activity.