With music festival season underway in the Coachella Valley, a Riverside County legislator is pushing to make these large events safer by restricting the airspace around them.
As concerts such as the Stagecoach Country Music Festival — which begins Friday, April 24, — and the just-ended Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival continue to grow in popularity, Rep. Raul Ruiz, D-Palm Desert, re-introduced the Protecting Outdoor Concerts Act.
The bill would extend federal airspace protections — to aircraft and drones — during these events. If it become law the act would apply to any large outdoor music festivals. Restrictions and protections currently exist only for major sporting events, Ruiz said.
The festival grounds for Coachella and Stagecoach are already no-drone zones during the concerts, under local ordinances.
Ruiz’s bill, H.R.2887, which is moving through House transportation and aviation committees, would direct the Federal Aviation Administration to automatically issue temporary flight restrictions in the vicinity of outdoor concerts or festivals with a daily attendance of 30,000 or more.
This would include restricting staffed airplanes of any size and remote-controlled drones to prevent unsafe congestion, a bill summary states.
The proposal aims to keep everyone safe at these events, from the millions of traveling fans to the hundreds of performers, workers and area residents.
Indio, in coordination with its police department, already issues a temporary flight restriction for drones each year over the Empire Polo Club festival grounds, where the Coachella and Stagecoach concerts take place. These prohibit drones and other unstaffed aircraft systems during the flight restriction time.
The FAA already bars flying drones and other aircraft within a 3-nautical-mile radius, and up to 3,000 feet above stadiums with 30,000 seats or more. These rules apply starting one hour before, and until one hour after the scheduled time of major sports events, including those in the MLB, NFL, NCAA and NASCAR.
“We must ensure fans, artists, and workers are safe,” Ruiz said in a news release. “A stadium full of fans at a football game gets temporary flight protections, but the same stadium hosting a sold-out concert may not. Concerts and festivals bring communities together and celebrate culture.”
Legislation like the act would “ensure that people can enjoy these events knowing the same safety standards that protect sports fans are protecting them too,” he said.
As of Friday, April 24, there was no cost estimate for the bill from the Congressional Budget Office.
Ruiz grew up in Coachella with his farmworker parents and worked as an emergency room doctor before being elected to represent California’s 25th district, which includes Imperial County, the eastern Coachella Valley and the cities of Banning, Beaumont, Blythe, Hemet, Needles and San Jacinto.
In early April, he hosted a roundtable with Riverside County and Coachella Valley first responders and law enforcement officials to discuss the issue and announce his proposal.
News reports showed that last year a Cessna plane flew over the crowds at Coachella carrying a banner, and had to make an emergency landing in a field near the festival grounds after the banner got caught in power lines.
Another report from last year’s Stagecoach, from Indio Police Chief Brian Tully, said that a small Beechcraft Bonanza plane flew above a crowd for several minutes, which Tully told ABC7 “caused us great concern because of the types of aerial maneuvers it was performing.”
Ruiz has pushed for the act in past years.
The release cites past incidents, including a 2008 one in which an unscheduled airplane dropped confetti-like leaflets over 18 Indio neighborhoods, which “demonstrates that even seemingly minor airspace intrusions can pose real safety risks.” Also in 2024, multiple concerts nationwide experienced dangerously low-flying aircraft, highlighting the need for action, the release states.
By giving law enforcement and event organizers the tools “to manage airspace over large gatherings, the legislation will help prevent accidents, interference from drones, and other hazards that put attendees at risk,” the release states.
Live event producers, first responders and local leaders support the legislation, the release states.
The Anschutz Entertainment Group, through its subsidiary Goldenvoice, produces and promotes Stagecoach and Coachella. Chief External Affairs Officer Martha Saucedo backed the bill, saying in the release that it “would provide an important tool to help keep our guests and venues safe.”
Riverside County Fire Department Chief Robert Fish said there is a “long-standing gap in airspace safety for large-scale public events, particularly in the eastern portion of Riverside County.”
In the release, Fish said the bill would bring “a critical layer of protection for spectators, staff and first responders” and make it easier to manage such events.
Indio City Manager Bryan Montgomery agreed that temporary flight restrictions would reduce risk of any unauthorized or low-flying aircraft over dense areas, “where even a minor incident could have serious consequences.”
On Thursday, April 23, the FAA posted on X a message to pilots to “always check airspace restrictions before you fly.”
It also states that it will step up enforcement and recently fined a drone pilot who flew over Coachella.
To see the FAA regulations, click here.