US authorities briefly stopped flights into Newark airport today following reports of drone sightings in New Jersey.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) says it received two reports of drone sightings from incoming flights into Newark at about 17:00. The drone was seen at about 3,500ft above Teterboro in New Jersey, approximately 17 miles (27km) from Newark airport.
Flights arriving into Newark were held for "a short duration", says a FAA spokesman. Arrivals resumed after no further drone sightings, but a ground delay programme remains in place until a backlog of flights is cleared, he adds. "We expect that to be lifted soon," he says.
The agency's airport status information website shows that arriving flights are delayed by an average of 55min.
The Newark ground stop came less than a month after drone sightings severely disrupted flights at London Gatwick airport in December, affecting tens of thousands of passengers.
Source: Cirium Dashboard
