Ground Stop Ordered at Newark Airport Due to Nearby Drone Activity
Officials have ordered a ground stop at New Jersey's Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) after two drones were seen in the area Tuesday night.
According to a senior aviation source, ABC News reports two drones were spotted 3,500 feet above smaller nearby Teterboro Airport (TEB), located in Bergen County, New Jersey, just 19 miles from EWR.
Some flights were reportedly being held at departing airports to slow the amount of planes coming into Newark for the time being. Planes inbound for EWR were held in the air, The New York Times reports, but were allowed to start landing by 5:45pm. But planes departing from other cities were still barred from takeoff.
TPG reached out to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which runs the airport, as well as the Federal Aviation Administration but did not receive an immediate response.
The drone activity in New Jersey comes about a month after drone sightings shutdown London Gatwick Airport (LGW) for 36 hours over the peak holiday travel window, causing about 1,000 flights to be grounded and affecting about 140,000 passengers.
This is a breaking news story. We will update this post as more information becomes available.