Amid the reported incidents of drone sightings in New York, runways at the New York Stewart International Airport had to be shut down temporarily on Friday night as mysterious drones appeared, calling for federal assistance by Governor Kathy Hochul.
The New York Stewart International Airport, which is located 60 miles north of New York City, reported the incident and officials said that the runways at the airport were shut for an hour after the country’s aviation regulator Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) informed them that a drone was spotted in the area at around 9:30pm.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, in a statement after the runways were closed said, “There were no impacts to flight operations during the closure.”
I will do whatever it takes to ensure New Yorkers remain safe.
New York is investigating these incidents, but the federal government needs to grant us the powers to deal with the drones directly. https://t.co/uo3UlwdXD0
— Governor Kathy Hochul (@GovKathyHochul) December 14, 2024
In a post on X, Governor Hochul said “I will do whatever it takes to ensure New Yorkers remain safe. New York is investigating these incidents, but the federal government needs to grant us the powers to deal with drones directly.”
In a statement, Governor Hochul further added that the incidents of drones being reported “has gone too far”.
According to an NBC News report, the FAA said that it slowed the movement of air traffic temporarily as there were reports stating that drone was spotted near and over the airport. The FAA also said that there has no safety issues to the airplanes.
According to officials from the White House, FBI and DHS, the reported drone sightings in New Jersey and nearby states involve manned aircraft, and it does not constitute to national security threat.
“The combination of efforts so far…to include technical equipment, tip line information and noted consults has…not found any evidence to support large-scale (unmanned aerial systems) activities,” an FBI official said, as reported by Associated Press.
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