The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily banned drones from flying over “critical infrastructure sites” in New York.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul (D) said in a Thursday statement that the action was taken as a precaution. There are no threats against these sites. The ban will be in place until January 18.
We will continue to monitor the situation aggressively, even though we haven’t detected any public safety or national security threats. We are calling on Congress to pass legislation that gives local and state law enforcement agencies the authority and resources to manage the rapidly evolving technology. “Public safety is my number one priority, and I’ll stop at nothing to ensure the safety of my constituents,” she said.
On Thursday, the FAA also issued a similar ban on drones for a month in certain parts of New Jersey.
In recent weeks, drones were reportedly spotted in New Jersey as well as New York. Hochul told NewsNation that the Biden and Harris administrations sent a drone detection system to the state earlier this week.
Officials from the United States have said that drones are not owned by the U.S. government and also do not belong to foreign governments. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), FBI, Department of Defense, and FAA released a joint statement about drones earlier this week amid growing concerns.
As the number of sightings continues to increase, residents and lawmakers have pushed for greater government transparency and answers as to what these objects are.
Last week, the sightings in New York forced the airport to close its runways for about an hour. More than 40 million Americans will be traveling by air over the holidays. However, the closures didn’t seem to affect flight traffic. Hochul at the time said that the sightings “went too far.”
