No more drones to zoom past airport

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM:Drone users will now have to keep their passion for flying on check as the District Collector has issued a ban on Unmmaned Aeriel Vehicles within two-kilometre radius of the Trivandrum International Airport (TIA). Strict action will be taken against the offenders by the police who will monitor the use of drones around the area.

Collector K Vasuki issued the order based on the special directive by the state government ensuring smooth and safe travel path for air traffic. Drone aka Unmmaned Aerial vehicles has become a rage among the youths for some time. It is also being widely used for video coverage at several private events now. Though the centre earlier imposed a ban as per the directive of Director General of Civil aviation, the enforcement agencies in the state turned a blind eye to this violation.

However, the new ban also brought to the fore that there is a widespread use of drones near the airport in the city. Last year, the unregulated use of drones caught international attention as flight operations at the Dubai airport were shut for over an hour and many flights were diverted owing to the presence of a drone in nearby airspace.

Sources in the district administration said the ban was due to the obstruction being faced by the airport in taking off and landing the flights. It is learnt from sources that the Airport Authority of India approached the Collector to issue the ban as it would affect the flight operations. However, the police are keen on enforcing the rules with an iron fist in protected areas and during VIP visits. The police have also banned the use of private drones within the limits of vital installations including VSSC, airport and Brahmos Aerospace.

“UAVs are banned. Any cases of such use reported in the city will be dealt seriously and strong action will be taken against them. Not only airport, the illegal use of UAVs are also restricted in the airspace of vital installations in the city”, said G Jayadev, Deputy Commissioner of Police.According to an official of Aiport Authority of India, though there was strict regulation on the use of drones, event management companies, and film crew uses them for aerial cinematography by brazenly flouting rules.

“It is also found out that many of the users have no valid license or sufficient papers to fly them in the air. The unregulated use of objects in the airspace pose a serious threat to flight operations, apart from other security concerns. Hence, the DGCA banned the operations.  However, the ban will heave a sigh of relief for us and the flights could take off and land safely”, said a Senior official of TIA.As the UAVs can be purchased through online easily, many wedding photography firms are buying it and use for a sky view angle.

“As the demand for high-powered drones has gone up manifold, many wedding, event management companies are keen to buy for an eagle-view scale. But this doesn’t mean that, we are misusing it. However, we are bound to obey the rules and we won’t fly the object in the banned airspace”, said Anirudh Chandran, a wedding photographer in the city. 

DGCA Guidelines

As per the rules, the regulator has classified drones under five categories based on their weight. Nano drones or those that weigh less than 250g and are capable of flying not more than 50 feet from the ground level will not need any permission. Drones above that weight category and upto two kg and can fly no higher than 200 feet will need police permission. The ones weighing more than two kg will need to apply for permissions, including one from the police, as also a license and a flight plan.  There will be a restriction on flying drones in sensitive areas including international borders, within 500m from strategic locations, from mobile platforms such as car, ship or aircraft, over eco-sensitive zones like national parks and wildlife sanctuaries. Government agencies will be free to use drones according to their own guidelines and will not be part of this framework. The ministry had first issued guidelines for drones last year but they have not been implemented yet.  However, the DGCA has asked to put the rules in place by December 31.