The Biden-Harris administration’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced “temporary flight restrictions” against drone flights for different parts of New Jersey on Wednesday following concerns over increased drone sightings over the past few weeks.
The FAA told NBC 10, “At the request of federal security partners, the FAA published 22 Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) prohibiting drone flights over critical New Jersey infrastructure.”
According to NBC 10, the FAA’s temporary flight restrictions include locations such as Burlington, Hamilton, Winslow, Gloucester City, Camden, and Evesham.
The temporary flight restrictions are currently scheduled to expire on January 17, according to Fox News. The outlet noted that the FAA’s temporary flight restrictions do not apply to drones used by the Department of Homeland Security, law enforcement agencies, firefighting agencies, national defense operations, search and rescue operations, and disaster response operations.
In a statement obtained by ABC News, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said, “We continue to assess there is no public safety threat relating to the reported drone sightings.”
The spokesperson added, “In coordination with the FAA and our critical infrastructure partners who requested temporary flight restrictions over their facilities, out of an abundance of caution, the FAA has issued temporary flight restrictions over some critical infrastructure facilities in New Jersey.”
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Addressing the issue of the increased drone sightings and the Biden-Harris administration’s decision to remain largely quiet on the surge in drone reports across New Jersey and other states, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told Fox News, “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.”
While Johnson told Fox News that he recently organized a meeting with government officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the Department of Defense, and the Department of Homeland Security, he said, “The answers are not forthcoming.”
Fox News reported that Biden-Harris administration officials hosted a call on Saturday regarding the mysterious drone sightings across the country. The outlet noted that the meeting featured officials from the National Security Council, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the FBI, and the FAA.
According to Fox News, while an FBI official acknowledged that the agency had received 5,000 tips of drone reports in recent weeks, the official claimed that fewer than 100 of the tips required additional investigation.
“We’re doing our best to find the origin of that specific… those drone activities,” the FBI official stated. “But I think there has been a slight overreaction.”
