A drone and a weather balloon spotted near San Diego International Airport triggered a roughly two-hour halt to arrivals and departures on Friday, delaying hundreds of flights right as Labor Day weekend travel was ramping up across the region. More than 400 flights had been delayed by 5 p.m., according to FlightAware data, before the airport resumed normal operations by 4:30 p.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration paused arrivals and departures at the airport after the objects were spotted in the immediate vicinity of the airfield, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Airport personnel at San Diego International Airport confirmed to the San Diego Union-Tribune that one of the two objects was a drone and the other was a weather balloon. The FAA reported an all-clear at 4:30 p.m., matching the time the airport says it resumed full operations.
Separately, Times Now reported that average flight delays at the airport reached approximately 122 minutes and that more than 360 flights had been delayed by 4 p.m. as the disruption rippled through the start of the holiday travel rush. That outlet also noted that social media users posted unverified reports of a high-altitude balloon or unidentified aerial phenomenon over North County San Diego around the time of the ground stop, though authorities did not confirm any link between those posts and the actual delays.
TSA Opens Investigation Into Drone Activity
TSA law enforcement is investigating the reported drone activity, per the Union-Tribune's report. San Diego airfield operations said it continues to monitor the situation and coordinates with the FAA, TSA, and local law enforcement when incidents like this arise. The FAA has said it is difficult for manned aircraft to see and avoid a drone while flying, underscoring why unauthorized drone activity near controlled airspace is treated as a serious safety concern rather than a minor nuisance.
The FAA also advises drone operators to avoid flying near airports altogether, and operators are required to receive airspace authorization before flying near airports in controlled airspace. Under 14 CFR Part 107 and recreational flyer rules, civilian drones are generally restricted to below 400 feet in uncontrolled airspace and are barred from entering controlled airport airspace without prior clearance, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Under the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 and 2026 enforcement policies, unauthorized drone operations near airports can draw civil penalties of up to $75,000 per violation, while criminal interference with aircraft operations can carry fines up to $250,000 and up to three years in federal prison, per Drone U.
Not San Diego's First Brush With Rogue Drones
This is not the first time a drone has forced evasive concern in San Diego's skies. In Hoodline's prior reporting, United Airlines Flight 1980 reported striking a small, red, shiny drone at 3,000 feet while descending toward San Diego International Airport in April, landing in San Diego with no immediate reports of injuries, though authorities had not released a formal damage assessment. Weather balloons have posed their own hazards elsewhere: in October 2025, a United Airlines jet was forced to divert to Salt Lake City after a likely weather-balloon strike cracked its cockpit windshield, according to CBS Los Angeles.
Friday's incident also fits a broader national pattern. FAA reporting data shows close encounters between drones and manned aircraft near U.S. airports nearly doubled from 320 sightings in the first quarter of 2026 to 601 sightings in the second quarter, per DRONELIFE. A separate U.S. Government Accountability Office analysis found that between 2021 and 2024, more than 2,000 drone sightings were recorded near U.S. airports, including at least 60 instances where pilots had to execute evasive maneuvers to avoid mid-air collisions.
Another Rocky Holiday Weekend For San Diego Flyers
Friday's disruption comes during another holiday-travel period for San Diego flyers. The airport has been navigating these holiday-travel bottlenecks even as it pushes ahead with its multi-billion dollar New Terminal 1 redevelopment, which hosted a public community preview on September 14, 2025, ahead of its official opening on September 23, 2025.
Whether investigators have identified who was operating the drone, or where the weather balloon originated, remains unclear. It is also not publicly known whether the drone was transmitting Remote ID tracking data at the time it was spotted. For now, San Diego airfield operations says it will keep monitoring the airspace as the TSA's investigation into the drone activity continues.
