The new laws are being brought in after severe disruption at Gatwick Airport in December 2018 which led to over 1000 flights being cancelled. There is currently a no fly zone of 1KM but under plans anounced by the government and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) this will be extended to 5KM.
The new law will cover both drones and model aircraft and prevent them from flying within 5KM (3 Miles) of and airfield perimeter and will come into force in 3 weeks on 13th March 2019.
Additionally the government also wants to have new stop and search powers to tackle drone misuse. This would apply to people suspected of using drones maliciously near airports.
Also powers in the new Drone Bill would allow the police to access electric data stored on a drone which would include the memory card with video and photographs plus the drones internal computer which logs information about all past flights including where they were conducted, what speed and heights and lots more information.
Violating the rules could lead to a prison sentence of up to five years.
Rising View is a member of The Association of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (Arpas UK), which represents the drone industry who welcome the changes but cautioned on the stop and search plans. “Police will need to know exactly what the rules are and in exercising their powers do so in the right way,” said Rupert Dent, an Arpas UK committee member. “We are keen it doesn’t prevent legitimate operators from operating drones in a legitimate fashion.”
Will this affect Rising View?
Rising View is a licensed and insured aerial video and photography specialist, we have had our Permission for Commercial Operation (PFCO) which is issued from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for over 3 years.
The CAA has confirmed that the new 5KM restricted boundary around airports would still be accessible to commercial drone operators and we would just need to apply for a permit to do so.
Currently this is the same situation at the moment with the 1KM no fly zone around airports and Rising View have recently applied for permits to fly within Dundee Airport, Edinburgh Airport and Prestwick Airport with no issues at all. There is additional paperwork and time involved to unlock the zones but we welcome the new rule changes to make the airspace around airports safer in future as more drones take to the skies.
If you would like to talk to us about drone inspections or aerial surveys then give one of our offices a call and we will be happy to talk through your project. We travel throughout Scotland and you can reach us at:
Rising View Ltd
Rising View are licenced and insured aerial drone operators with permission to fly from the Civil Aviation Authority to carry out commercial work.
