Overview
- Since the World Cup began in June, law enforcement has ramped up a multiagency campaign that the FBI says has seized over 500 drones for operating inside FAA-designated no‑drone zones around stadiums and fan sites.
- The FAA designated wide temporary flight restrictions—commonly about a 3‑nautical‑mile radius up to 3,000 feet—around host stadiums and approved fan events to protect crowds and infrastructure.
- Authorities have lodged criminal complaints and made arrests in several cities for illegal flights, including cases in Houston, Atlanta and Dallas where operators were charged with violating restricted airspace or lacking proper certification.
- Officials point to tools pilots should use to avoid enforcement: the FAA website, approved apps like B4UFLY and on‑controller geo-fence or warning messages, and they say failing to check those tools can lead to prosecution.
- The FAA’s 2026 enforcement policy is guiding action and exposes violators to steep civil fines, criminal penalties, equipment forfeiture and possible loss of remote‑pilot certification, while agencies acknowledge detection and attribution challenges at busy events.