FAA Issues Temporary Flight Ban on Drones in Areas Across New Jersey

The evening sky and points of light near in Lebanon Township, N.J., on Dec. 5, 2024. Trisha Bushey via AP

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a temporary ban on drone operations in multiple areas across New Jersey until next month unless operators are given special permission, amid heightened concerns over recent sightings.

Over the past several weeks, drones—sometimes swarms of them—have been spotted in New Jersey by local residents and police, drawing alarm from elected officials in the state. Some, including Reps. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) and Chris Smith (R-N.J.), have called for the federal government to take down the drones, while federal officials have said they don’t pose a threat to national security or public safety.

An Epoch Times review of the FAA’s notice to airmen (NOTAM) messages for New Jersey shows that the federal agency, starting from Dec. 18, has barred people from flying drones across most of the state, with some exceptions.

The ban went into effect on Dec. 18 and will end on Jan. 17, 2025, according to the messages.

“No UAS [unmanned aircraft system] operations are authorized in the areas covered by this NOTAM (except as described),” the FAA said on Dec. 18 for multiple regions across New Jersey.

Those exceptions include law enforcement, Department of Homeland Security operations, firefighting, disaster response missions, drone operations in “support of event” operations, and commercial drone operations with a valid work reason. People who are operating drones for commercial purposes must also have an approved federal waiver while the ban is in effect, the notice said.

The FAA also recommended that operators check its NOTAM section on a regular basis to see if “possible changes” were made by the agency.

An Epoch Times review of currently issued NOTAMs shows that the temporary restrictions on drone flight operations were implemented in the following municipalities in the state: Bayonne, Branchburg, Bridgewater, Burlington, Camden, Cedar Grove, Clifton, Edison, Elizabeth, Evesham, Gloucester City, Hancocks Bridge, Hamilton, Harrison, Jersey City, Kearny, Metuchen, North Brunswick, Sewaren, South Brunswick, Westampton, and Winslow.

The restrictions also stipulate that no drone systems can operate within the airspace that is specified in each notice, including from the ground level up to 400 feet in height.

FAA rules allow drone operators to fly their unmanned aircraft at a maximum height of 400, although professional and commercial drones can fly above that range if they are within 400 feet of a building. But in the aforementioned areas in New Jersey, those rules are suspended until the FAA lifts the restrictions next month, as currently scheduled.

Several weeks ago, the FAA set up temporary flight restrictions for Bedminster Township and military research facility Picatinny Arsenal, both in New Jersey, which will remain in effect. President-elect Donald Trump has a golf course and residence in Bedminster, which he often visits.

U.S. agencies and the White House have said the spike in drone sightings does not pose national security risks and appears to be mostly aircraft, stars, or hobbyist drones, although several lawmakers have sounded the alarm that some drones may have nefarious intent. House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul told reporters this week he believes some are being operated by the Chinese Communist Party, namely those seen near military bases.

Separately, the FBI’s Newark, New Jersey, office warned people not to shoot at drones—or what they think are drones—with firearms or shine lasers at them.

The bureau warned that the practice “could be dangerous” and could lead to “deadly consequences if manned aircraft are targeted mistakenly,” because pilots may be blinded by the lasers.

Drone sightings have led to the shutdown of at least one military base in recent days, with Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio being closed temporarily over the past weekend, a spokesperson for the base told The Epoch Times on Tuesday. Another “drone incursion” was reported a few days later, on Dec. 17 and Dec. 18, a spokesperson for the base separately said.

On Dec. 18, U.S. Marine Corps officials confirmed to The Epoch Times that a drone was spotted flying near Camp Pendleton in Southern California between Dec. 9 and Dec. 15, stressing this posed “no threat” to ground or air operations.

Reuters contributed to this report.