Flights were disrupted at Newark Liberty Airport on Tuesday evening after two drones were spotted over Teterboro Airport, 17 miles away. The FAA said the drones were flying at about 3,500 feet. The FAA issued a ground stop at Newark and inbound flights were put in holds. The holding aircraft were allowed to land starting about 5:45 p.m. but Newark-bound aircraft that hadn’t taken off yet were held at their departure airports to allow the backlog of arrivals at Newark to clear. Assuming no more drone sightings, normal operations were expected to resume.
The FAA comments dealt solely with Newark and the impact on Teterboro, the busiest business airport in the U.S., wasn’t clear. Drone sightings closed London’s Gatwick Airport for two days over the holiday travel rush and caused hundreds of flight cancellations.
