Washington - The government has banned all aircraft from flying within three miles of major professional and college sporting events and any other large open air gathering.
The Federal Aviation Administration’s notice to pilots became effective at noon Thursday, said spokeswoman Laura Brown. The no-fly zone extends up to an altitude of 3,000 feet.
The notice applies to all types of aircraft including small planes, blimps, balloons and gliders, she said.
“We issued this to cover everything,” Brown said. “It’s a blanket order so that it would include a state fair, a high school football game.”
The alternative was issuing an array of specific restrictions, she said.
The first major outdoor sporting event in New York since the attacks will be Friday night when the Atlanta Braves play the Mets at Shea Stadium, which is across Flushing Bay from LaGuardia Airport. The stadium is directly in the approach path for one of LaGuardia’s runways.
Earlier this week, the agency had granted requests from several schools, including Clemson University, the University of Michigan and Pennsylvania State University, to bar flights within a mile radius of their stadiums.
MSU had been requesting a no-fly zone for the rest of the home football schedule and for “The Cold War” hockey game Oct. 6 at Spartan Stadium.
School officials nationwide have been tightening security at stadiums after terrorists attacked Washington and New York by flying commercial aircraft into buildings.
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