1,139 drones detected near World Cup venues since tournament opened, as passenger jets collide with drones over New York

Passenger jets landing in the United States have been involved in a series of drone collisions as the 2026 FIFA World Cup continues across North America.

A JetBlue Airbus A321 flying from Las Vegas to New York struck a drone at around 7:15 a.m. Tuesday while approaching John F. Kennedy International Airport, according to Reuters and AFP.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the aircraft was at about 3,000 feet (914 meters) when it hit the drone.

The plane landed safely and damage was minimal. JetBlue said passengers disembarked normally and that an inspection found no signs of structural damage.

The incident came just days after a United Airlines jet struck a drone while landing at Newark Liberty International Airport — one of the major airports serving the New York area — on June 26.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey had earlier said it would prepare for increased demand at airport facilities in New Jersey, where several World Cup matches are being held.

The World Cup final is scheduled for New Jersey on July 19.

Andrew Giuliani, the White House's World Cup coordinator, said Tuesday that the FBI-operated International Police Coordination Center had detected more than 1,000 drones near World Cup venues.

"Since the World Cup opened, 1,139 drones have been detected near venues through Sunday night, and more than 300 have been neutralized," he said, without disclosing how they were brought down.

The FBI also said on X, formerly Twitter, that it had seized more than 500 drones in the airspace above the 11 host cities across the United States since the tournament began.

Many of the drones are believed to have been deployed to capture footage of matches or team training sessions.

South Korea's national football team, led by coach Hong Myung-bo, also encountered an illegal drone during a closed training session ahead of its second group-stage match.

On June 17, the squad held a fully closed training session lasting about an hour and a half at the Chivas Verde Valle training ground in Zapopan, near Guadalajara, Mexico, in preparation for their match against Mexico.

Early in the session, while warm-up coordination drills were under way, an unauthorized drone appeared over the training ground.

A team security officer spotted it, and Mexican military drone-jamming personnel stationed at the base camp transmitted a signal that brought it down.

The team's safety officer, along with local police and military personnel, moved to the crash site to recover the drone, but two men believed to be the operators retrieved it and fled.

Their escape was captured on footage recorded by the team's video crew inside the training facility.

In response, a FIFA security officer attached to the squad referred the matter to Mexican police, who launched an investigation.

"It is regrettable that something like this happened at the most important time in our match preparation," Hong said at the time.