San Diego flights resume after drone and balloon ground 400-plus departures

September 6, 2026 at 09:39 AM2 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

A drone and a stratospheric test balloon forced San Diego International Airport to halt flights for over two hours on Friday, September 4. Departures were cleared to resume at 4:30 PM with a warning to fly at their own risk, while hundreds of flights remained delayed into the evening.

Key Facts

San Diego International Airport issued a ground stop after a drone and a stratospheric test balloon were spotted near the airspace at around 2:00 PM on Friday, September 4.
The ground stop lasted until 4:30 PM, but hundreds of flights were still delayed at 8:00 PM that evening.
The balloon was a SceyeCELL stratospheric cell tower operated by a US aerospace and materials science company, returning from Japan to New Mexico.
The Transportation Security Administration is investigating the drone activity after police were unable to locate the owner.

Airspace Disruption

A drone and a weather balloon were identified near San Diego International Airport at around 2:00 PM on Friday, September 4. The Federal Aviation Administration issued a ground stop for arriving and departing flights, initially set to last until midnight due to security and safety concerns. Air traffic resumed operations at 4:30 PM, but operators were warned to fly at their own risk, according to a post on X by Thenewarea51. San Diego Airport confirmed to Fox5 that both the drone and the weather balloon caused the delays.

Stratospheric Test Balloon

The balloon was a SceyeCELL, a stratospheric cell tower designed to provide mobile broadband coverage equivalent to more than 500 ground cell towers. It departed for a trip across the Pacific to Japan on August 9 and was returning to New Mexico when the interference occurred. The balloon belongs to a US aerospace and materials science company conducting tests in the area.

Drone Investigation

The Transportation Security Administration is investigating the drone activity near San Diego International Airport. Initial reports suggested that police were unable to locate the drone's owner. Flying drones near airports is illegal because they can cause mid-air collisions and catastrophic engine damage.