Experts agree on threat of drones, but divided over regulation matters
SINGAPORE — With drones posing a “real and growing threat” to the safety of civilian aircraft, the director general and chief executive of the International Air Transport Association yesterday called for regulation that is “sensible”, and supported by a pragmatic enforcement method against offenders.
In his keynote address for the Singapore Airshow Aviation Leadership Summit, Mr Tony Tyler said: “(Drones) are here to stay, but we cannot allow them to be a hindrance or safety threat to commercial aviation.”
The association has received many reports from pilots who have encountered drones cruising where they were not expected, he added, such as at low altitudes around airports.
Talks with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and other stakeholders are ongoing, Mr Tyler said, in hopes of reaching a common approach to regulation.
Singapore is one of 36 member states sitting on the ICAO council.
Drone regulation was one of three key topics debated by aviation experts and practitioners during yesterday’s summit, held ahead of the biennial airshow which opens today at Changi.
While there was consensus that regulation is inevitable, members of the diverse six-men panel — representing manufacturers, legal counsels, pilots and regulators — differed in their views on the extent and form of regulation that should be taken.
Dr Francis Schubert, deputy CEO of Swiss air navigation service Skyguide, said: “There is concern in some corners of the industry that the airspace is about to be invaded by drones. I don’t share the concern… If things go right, there is little interference with civil aviation activity.”
Captain Martin Chalk, president of the International Federation of Air line Pilots’ Associations, disagreed, saying that drones present risks and interference to civilian airspace.
Highlighting how regulators generally adopt a firm stance against potential airborne collisions with birds, and have guidelines for wildlife management around airports, Captain Chalk said that a similar, or a more proactive stance, should be taken against “new threats”, such as drones.
Mr Patrick Ky, executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), is of the view that limiting drones to specific flying zones is just a temporary solution, and he sees the efforts to deal with them as an opportunity to tinker with new systems and innovations, such as geofencing, which puts a chip on a drone to prevent it from encroaching into specific spaces.
ST Aerospace chief operating officer Jeffrey Lam said it is unclear what kind of safety protocols the regulators desire, and are looking to them to set up the right framework before designing and marketing drones.
“As manufacturers, we are just as concerned that our drones operate safely,” he said.
Laws passed last May in Singapore showed that operators here must apply for a permit to fly drones heavier than 7kg.
Those used for commercial purposes such as wedding shoots, or specialised services, such as surveying, also need permits.
Drones carrying dangerous materials such as weapons, or biochemical or radioactive materials are banned. And offenders may be fined up to S$100,000 and/or jailed for up to five years. KELLY NG
