FAA Warns Airlines About Safety Risks From Rocket Launches, Urges “Extreme Caution”
Monday, February 2, 2026
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The Federal Aviation Administration issued a safety alert on January 8, urging "extreme caution" near rocket launch debris fields, following ProPublica's investigation into disrupted air traffic and pilot scrambles during SpaceX Starship tests.
SpaceX's Starship launches have soared over busy commercial airways in the Caribbean, with the FAA warning that debris can fall in areas without no-fly zones, such as international airspace over oceans, requiring pilots to have "additional situational awareness".
The FAA has granted SpaceX permission to launch Starship up to 25 times a year from its Texas base, but only five launches occurred in 2025 due to repeated setbacks, prompting the agency to advise aircraft operators to "evaluate the impact of space launch and reentry operations" on their planned flight routes.
