Larger drones will have to be registered and users will have to sit safety awareness tests after new research showed that some drones could damage the windscreen of helicopters.
The Department for Tranport (DfT) said requiring owners of drones weighing 250 grams or more to register details of their drones would ‘improve accountability and encourage owners to act responsibly’.
The move follows research that concluded that drones weighing 400 grams could damage the windscreens of helicopters. However, it would take a drone of around 2kg to critically damage an airliner windscreen, and only if the airliner is flying at a high speed, not during take-off and landing.
The Government also plans to bring forward and expand the use of ‘geo-fencing’ in the UK. The technology works on GPS coordinates and is built into the drone to stop it entering sensitive areas such as prison or airport space.
Aviation minister Lord Callanan said: ‘The UK is at the forefront of an exciting and fast growing drones market and it is important we make the most of this emerging global sector.
‘Our measures prioritise protecting the public while maximising the full potential of drones. Increasingly, drones are proving vital for inspecting transport infrastructure for repair or aiding police and fire services in search and rescue operations, even helping to save lives.
‘But like all technology, drones too can be misused. By registering drones, [and] introducing safety awareness tests to educate users we can reduce the inadvertent breaching of airspace restrictions to protect the public.’
The DfT said drones are central to the Government’s Industrial Strategy. It said it will continue working with the Civil Aviation Authority to help commercial drone users grow their businesses by making sure measures are updated to reflect the needs of the emerging market worth over £102bn globally.
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