Civilian drones are increasingly becoming a “real and growing threat” to the safety of commercial aviation, industry group International Air Transport Association (IATA) warned on Monday, calling for regulations to be put in place before any serious accidents occur.
Tony Tyler, Director-General of IATA, said the threat posed by unmanned aerial vehicles is still evolving as people are only starting to discover the many potential, non-military applications of the technology.
I am as excited as you are about the prospect of having pizza delivered by a drone...They are here to stay. But we cannot allow them to be a hindrance or safety threat to commercial aviation. We need a sensible approach to regulation and a pragmatic method of enforcement for those who disregard rules and regulations and put others in danger.
As the use of drones expand from military to commercial and even recreational purposes, experts fear that these radio-controlled flying devices, if not regulated, could one day collide with a commercial aircraft with dire consequences.
“The issue is real. We have plenty of pilot reports of drones where they were not expected, particularly at low altitudes around airports... There is no denying that there is a real and growing threat to the safety of civilian aircraft (coming from drones),” said Tyler.
Rob Eagles, an expert on drones in IATA, said the industry group did not have figures on the number of drones in operation worldwide but anecdotal evidence showed they were mushrooming.
When the US Federal Aviation Administration ordered a registration of drones weighing up to 55 pounds (25 kilograms) last year, 3,00,000 were registered within just the first month in December, he said.
While 55-pound drones are considered small, “this just gives you an indicator of the number of vehicles,” Eagles said.
There’s going to be an increase in vehicles across the whole scope and range from small to medium size to the larger unmanned vehicles.Rob Eagles, Drones Expert in IATA
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