The prospect of having deliveries made by drones has everyone excited. The first ever commercial home delivery was made a few days ago by 7-Eleven in the United States. Amazon promises future deliveries within 30 minutes at your doorstep through Amazon Prime Air. What’s preventing the full-fledged use of this technological innovation is regulating it. India’s Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) initially banned the civil use of drones in October, 2014, promising regulations within a few months. The first draft of these regulations were finally issued a year and a half later in April this year. Now, the latest regulatory hurdle is in fixing a regulatory authority for the drones. The Economic Times reports that the DGCA is unwilling to regulate the drones due to lack of adequate resources, and stated that regulation was possible only with the involvement of the state governments and police.
The Draft Guidelines are not designed for commercial deliveries
The concerns of the DGCA are certainly understandable. The implications, particularly safety and privacy concerns with permitting the large scale civil use of drones are immense. Around the world, drone regulations are in the process of being framed. Drone deliveries on an experimental basis are also being conducted. The DGCA’s first attempt to regulate drones has come in the form of the draft Guidelines for Obtaining Unique Identification Number and Operation of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System (the Draft Guidelines). Given the uncertain nature of the use of and security of drones, these guidelines are extremely stringent, and are clearly not designed to cover commercial large-scale deliveries like those proposed by Amazon and similar entities.
Every single drone flying above 200 feet to be registered
Consider Amazon’s model drone, which weighs less than 25 kilos, and flies within the height range of 200 to 400 feet. Under the Draft Guidelines, every single delivery drone used by Amazon will need a separate permit.
As per the Draft Guidelines, every drone being used for any civil purpose, such as the proposed drone deliveries, will have to obtain a permit from the regulatory authority. The only exception to this rule is for drones that fly below a height of 200 feet and within ‘uncontrolled airspace’. ‘Uncontrolled airspace’ refers to any airspace that is not under the control of an aviation authority. For example, airspace in and around airports is a controlled airspace. All civil uses within these limitations, including model drones used for recreational and research purposes, will be exempted from obtaining permits.
Operator will need aircraft level training
In addition to acquiring separate permits for each delivery drone, Amazon would need separately licensed operators as well. The Draft Guidelines do not contemplate multiple drones being operated by the same pilot or operator, from which it can be assumed that every drone must have a separate operator. Every operator would have to undergo pilot training equivalent to that of the aircrew of a manned aircraft.
Authorities need to be notified of every flight
For each and every delivery to be made, the operator of the delivery drone needs to inform several authorities- the regulatory authority, the Air Traffic Services Unit and the local police. In addition, a ‘flight plan’ will have to be notified for every delivery. This will include details like the purpose of the flight, the contents of the payload (the item to be delivered) and the route to be taken.
29/07/16 Asheeta Regidi/First Post
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The Draft Guidelines are not designed for commercial deliveries
The concerns of the DGCA are certainly understandable. The implications, particularly safety and privacy concerns with permitting the large scale civil use of drones are immense. Around the world, drone regulations are in the process of being framed. Drone deliveries on an experimental basis are also being conducted. The DGCA’s first attempt to regulate drones has come in the form of the draft Guidelines for Obtaining Unique Identification Number and Operation of Civil Unmanned Aircraft System (the Draft Guidelines). Given the uncertain nature of the use of and security of drones, these guidelines are extremely stringent, and are clearly not designed to cover commercial large-scale deliveries like those proposed by Amazon and similar entities.
Every single drone flying above 200 feet to be registered
Consider Amazon’s model drone, which weighs less than 25 kilos, and flies within the height range of 200 to 400 feet. Under the Draft Guidelines, every single delivery drone used by Amazon will need a separate permit.
As per the Draft Guidelines, every drone being used for any civil purpose, such as the proposed drone deliveries, will have to obtain a permit from the regulatory authority. The only exception to this rule is for drones that fly below a height of 200 feet and within ‘uncontrolled airspace’. ‘Uncontrolled airspace’ refers to any airspace that is not under the control of an aviation authority. For example, airspace in and around airports is a controlled airspace. All civil uses within these limitations, including model drones used for recreational and research purposes, will be exempted from obtaining permits.
Operator will need aircraft level training
In addition to acquiring separate permits for each delivery drone, Amazon would need separately licensed operators as well. The Draft Guidelines do not contemplate multiple drones being operated by the same pilot or operator, from which it can be assumed that every drone must have a separate operator. Every operator would have to undergo pilot training equivalent to that of the aircrew of a manned aircraft.
Authorities need to be notified of every flight
For each and every delivery to be made, the operator of the delivery drone needs to inform several authorities- the regulatory authority, the Air Traffic Services Unit and the local police. In addition, a ‘flight plan’ will have to be notified for every delivery. This will include details like the purpose of the flight, the contents of the payload (the item to be delivered) and the route to be taken.
29/07/16 Asheeta Regidi/First Post
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