Someone at TSA Posted ‘Drone’ 46 Times, and the Warning Was Serious

On the afternoon of November 5, the Transportation Security Administration’s main account on X posted the word drone 46 times in a row. By evening the post had drawn roughly 736,000 views, according to the drone-industry site DroneXL, and 24 of the repetitions were spelled with a zero in place of the letter o. It looked like a joke, and the agency has played the same gag before, during the World Cup in July.

The follow-up was the real message. TSA warned that flying a drone in a no-drone zone near an airport could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars and pointed followers to the FAA’s online airspace map. For travelers who carry a drone on vacation, the practical lesson is that the rules around airports are strict, and that checking the map before launch takes only a minute.

The penalties are not just talk. DroneXL notes the largest FAA proposed fine against an individual was $270,000, though a single flight typically draws far less. More recently, airport incidents have gone to federal court: a Charlotte pilot pleaded guilty on September 22 to unsafe drone operation between two active runways, a charge that carries up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

The FAA also launched a program in April that lets first-time violators who admit liability and waive an appeal receive a reduced fine. That does not make flying near an airport safe or legal. Anyone planning to film a holiday trip from the air should confirm the airspace rules for each location and keep well clear of runways and approach paths.

Sources: DroneXL