Drone disrupts flight operations at Newark airport

NEW YORK: A drone briefly disrupted air traffic on Tuesday at Newark airport, one of New York’s three major hubs for air traffic, US officials said.

There were no further drones sighted, and arrivals were allowed to resume after a “short” suspension, a Federal Aviation Administration spokesman told AFP.

The FAA ordered a ground stop for other flights heading to Newark, however, until the “backlog” of arrivals landing at the airport were cleared.

“Around 5:00 pm, we received two reports from incoming flights into Newark that a drone was sighted at about 3,500 feet (1,070 meters) above Teterboro,” another nearby airport in New Jersey, the spokesman added.

Drones have caused a growing number of flight disruptions in recent weeks. In December, London’s Gatwick airport was paralyzed for 36 hours after a drone sighting.

Agencies