Cites Safety Concerns About Flights Near Airports

This looks a lot like a huge knee-jerk reaction that is completely out of proportion to the situation by which it was prompted. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has ordered two stores at Newark Liberty International Airport to stop selling small UAVs, citing concerns about safety.

PANYNJ spokesman Ron Marsico said in a statement that "The Port Authority shares the aviation community's safety concerns about the growing presence of drones around the region's airports and is strongly opposed to the sale of drones at terminal shops." The Port Authority demanded that Brookstone and Hudson News, both with stores on the secure side of the airport in Terminals A and C, respectively, stop selling the small, remote-controlled aircraft "immediately."

A spokeswoman for The Hudson Group, which owns Hudson News, told ABC News that they would comply with the Port Authority's demand. Laura Samuels said that even though the items were toys and did not threaten aviation, "if it is uncomfortable for customers or the airport, we will do what we always do in that situation, and that's remove them." She said that would be her recommendation to the corporation. Brookstone did not respond to an inquiry, and neither did the FAA.

FMI: www.panynj.gov