THE South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) is set to clamp down on the illegal flying, in civil airspace of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aircraft Vehicles (UAV), or drones.
Drones are aircraft that can fly without a pilot on board and are usually controlled remotely.
Now that the drones are becoming cheaper to buy and easier to use, more of them are been bought and used in South African airspace for both business and recreational purposes.
‘It is disconcerting to hear that there are individuals or organisations that, for some reason or another, are determined to contravene applicable international and local aviation prescripts.
‘Those that are flying any type of unmanned aircraft are doing so illegally; and as the regulator, we cannot condone any form of blatant disregard of applicable rules,’ said the Director of Civil Aviation, Poppy Khoza.
The effects
However, a blanket ban is definitely something that will be contested by the public and will be impossible to enforce. With this in mind, the SACAA said that they realised the urgent need and demand for drone usage and will develop guidelines for authorisation to fly a drone.
Unfortunately, this could take time as, according to the SACAA, there are many factors to consider in this process.
Key among these is to ensure the allocated frequency spectrum is secure to ensure protection from unintentional or unlawful interference with the drone.
A concerned Zululander, who asked not to be named fearing victimisation, explained the predicament the blanket ban has created for him.
‘My drone is my livelihood, it is my full-time occupation, it is my bread and butter.
‘I have been doing jobs for small and large businesses and industry. I have also been in contact with Disaster Management and the SAPS and there has been a lot of interest. Now I am effectively out of work and I do not know for how long.’
The future
In the mean time, the International Civil Aviation Organisation has been working towards providing a regulatory framework and guidance material, to underpin routine operation of drones comparable to that of manned operations.
The SACAA has allocated the necessary resources to the UAS programme to ensure a speedy integration of drones into South African airspace.
‘However, until then, we would like to appeal to those that are disregarding the laws to desist from such actions,’ Khoza said.
