The U.S. now bars most drone flights within a nautical mile of the Mexican border, San Diego’s side included

Flying a drone near the border on the San Diego side now requires federal permission. On Friday, Oct. 16, the U.S. departments of Transportation, War and Homeland Security announced a temporary flight restriction, effective that day, that bars unauthorized drone flights from the ground up to 400 feet within one nautical mile (about 1.85 km) north of the U.S.–Mexico border, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described it as “protecting our skies from cartel drone threats.”

The formal rules are in three FAA notices, NOTAMs 6/9954, 6/9955 and 6/9956, according to the drone news site DroneXL, which reported that they take effect at 00:00 UTC on Oct. 20 (5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19, in Tijuana and San Diego) and run through Oct. 19, 2027. Because the FAA called the restriction effective Friday, don’t treat the weekend as a window to fly. The band follows the entire border, from the Pacific coast to the Gulf of Mexico.

Who it affects

Even small recreational drones under 250 grams are covered, DroneXL reported, and DroneLife noted that the rules apply to civilian flights. Permission goes through U.S. Customs and Border Protection: according to the FAA notice as summarized by DroneXL, requests must be emailed at least 48 hours ahead with the operator’s details and the drone’s Remote ID, make and model, and approvals are limited to purposes such as national defense, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue, disaster response and event operations. Everyday hobby and commercial flights don’t fit any of the approved purposes.

The band is designated national defense airspace. DroneXL reported that violators face interception and detention, fines, loss of FAA certificates and possible criminal charges, and that federal agencies may take down or seize a drone they judge to be a credible threat.

What it means if you’re near the border

• By our reading of the one-nautical-mile band, it takes in places right on the line on the San Diego side, such as Border Field State Park and the areas around the San Ysidro and Otay Mesa ports of entry. Keep the drone packed there unless you have CBP approval.
• The restriction covers U.S. airspace north of the border.
• Check current NOTAMs and the FAA’s drone airspace tools before any flight; DroneXL noted that as of 2:55 p.m. Eastern on Friday (11:55 a.m. in Tijuana), the notices hadn’t yet appeared on the FAA’s online restriction maps.

More on crossing and border changes: our alert kit and today’s Otay truck bypass story.