Local Congressman pushes airspace safety bill for Coachella, Stagecoach

INDIO, Calif. (KESQ)  - As festival season approaches in the Coachella Valley local Congressman, Rep. Raul Ruiz, M.D. (D) 25th District is pushing new legislation aimed at protecting the hundreds of thousands of people attending events like the Coachella Valley Music and Arts and Stagecoach festivals.

Ruiz introduced the “Protecting Outdoor Concerts Act,” which would require temporary flight restrictions over large outdoor concerts with more than 30,000 attendees.

He said similar rules are already in place for major sporting events, but at this time, those protections don’t fully apply to concerts.

“The Protecting Outdoor Concerts Act will close the critical safety gap for outdoor concerts,” Ruiz said. “Last year, when I had a security briefing while I was at the concert, there was an aircraft that had to do an emergency landing right outside of the Empire Polo Grounds. One of their banners got stuck in the wires. We need to make sure that concertgoers and everybody that works there are secure and safe."

While some restrictions have been put in place for drones, Ruiz said this bill would expand those protections to include temporary flight restrictions for manned aircraft like small planes.

"Our concertgoers here locally also deserve the same type of protection so that these manned aircrafts do not fly over the concert," Ruiz said.

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