FAA posts first flight limits ahead of Trump’s Alaska visit

The Federal Aviation Administration will ban drones over Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson from 3:35 pm to 10:15 pm Tuesday, the day President Donald Trump is scheduled to hold a rally in Wasilla. It is the only flight restriction the agency has issued so far for that day, though it has warned that much larger ones may follow.

The drone ban is the only one with hours attached. The notice doesn't name Trump or explain its timing, and neither it nor the Republican National Committee's event page says when Trump will arrive or leave. The rally at the Menard Memorial Sports Center begins at 2 pm, with remarks scheduled for 3:30 pm, according to the RNC.

The restricted zone is a circle centered on the base with a radius of 2 nautical miles, about 2.3 miles, reaching from the ground to 2,000 feet. It takes in Government Hill and the Port of Alaska and stops near the edge of downtown. Planes and helicopters aren't affected.

The bigger restrictions may matter more to drone pilots. On Thursday, the FAA posted advisories labeled "VIP" for Anchorage and Wasilla on Oct. 13, each listing restricted areas with radii of 10 and 30 nautical miles, about 35 miles, up to 18,000 feet. The advisories said details would come in a formal notice. As of early Sunday, the FAA had not issued one.

If it does, a VIP restriction for Monday in Youngstown, Ohio, shows what it could look like. That notice bars nearly all flights within the inner 10 nautical miles. Across the full 30-mile area, it bans drones, model aircraft, flight training, sightseeing flights, skydiving and banner towing, and limits other planes to those arriving at or leaving local airfields.

Under the JBER notice, the Defense, Homeland Security and Justice departments may disrupt, seize, damage or destroy a drone they consider a credible safety or security threat, and operators who break the rules can face civil penalties or criminal charges. The FAA tells pilots and drone operators to check its flight restriction site frequently for changes.