The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) declared a “national defense airspace” over part of Lake Michigan on Sunday, temporarily closing down the area for commercial and civilian air traffic.
The FAA has not clarified why it set up the flight restriction, which encompassed a square area that encompassed a portion of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, the northwestern part of the Lower Peninsula, and parts of Wisconsin.
The FAA notice, which bans civilian air traffic from the area, was done for “national defense” reasons, according to a map monitoring FAA notices and the Reuters news agency. There were no public comments from the Pentagon or the FAA.
As of Sunday at around 1:15 p.m. ET, the FAA flight restriction appeared to have been lifted, according to the map.
A number of large U.S. cities are located along Lake Michigan, including Chicago; Milwaukee; Gary, Indiana; and Green Bay, Wisconsin.
The closure of the airspace follows the shootdown by U.S. aircraft of a Chinese spy balloon and two unidentified flying objects. The two unidentified objects were taken down over Alaska and northern Canada on Friday and Saturday, while officials have provided few details about them.
Canadian investigators are hunting for the wreckage of the mysterious flying object shot down by a U.S. fighter jet over Yukon territory, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Sunday. Meanwhile, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), citing White House adviser Jake Sullivan, said that officials believe both objects were also balloons, albeit smaller than the one shot down near the South Carolina coast a week ago.
Also Saturday, the FAA and the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) restricted a portion of Montana’s airspace after a “radar anomaly” was discovered. However, Rep. Matt Rosendale (R-Mont.) on Sunday wrote that it may not have been simply a radar issue.
“I am in constant communication with NORCOM and they have just advised me that they have confidence there IS an object and it WAS NOT an anomaly. I am waiting now to receive visual confirmation. Our nation’s security is my priority,” Rosendale wrote on Twitter Sunday afternoon. He did not provide additional details.
Reuters contributed to this report.