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Business News/ Politics / Policy/  Are drones a threat to civil aviation?
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Are drones a threat to civil aviation?

Rob Eagles, director, air traffic management infrastructure, International Air Transport Association, on drones and the threat to civil aviation

Photo: ReutersPremium
Photo: Reuters

Mumbai: At the Singapore Airshow earlier last month, the international airlines discussed a new threat to civil aviation—from drones. The airlines expressed concern over drone activity across the globe. The issue is real. There are plenty of pilot reports of drones where they were not expected—particularly at low altitudes around airports.

With unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) being openly sold in India and a number of private companies starting to use them for different purposes, Indian regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a public notice in October 2014, banning non-government agencies, organisations or individuals from launching a UAV or UAS (unmanned aerial system) in the Indian civil air space for any purpose.

Mint spoke to Rob Eagles, director, air traffic management infrastructure, International Air Transport Association (IATA), on drones and the threat to civil aviation, including Indian airports.

During the interview, Eagles revealed that safety reports from a number of civil aviation and safety authorities in the world revealed a significant number of cases of near-collisions.

Edited excerpts from the interview:

How dangerous are drones to civil aviation?

Safety reports from a number of civil aviation and safety authorities in the world have revealed a significant number of near-collisions. With the number of incidents increasing at a great rate, the potential for collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft is growing alarmingly. We do not yet have enough scientific data regarding the specific damages likely to be caused by these collisions on manned aircraft of all types.

What is the numbers of drones that are posing a threat to civil aviation?

We don’t have knowledge of this number. Even low mass drones can pose a safety hazard.

How serious is the threat of drones in Indian civil aviation context?

Drones are a threat in every airspace. We are not aware of any particular issue that distinguishes India from other states.

Since companies and military forces are not going to limit the use of drones, what are the solutions to threat from drones?

Many of the unmanned aircraft operators are new to the field of aviation. We believe that the hazards involving manned and unmanned aircraft operating together in the same airspace requires education of the drone operators. We also believe that unmanned aircraft operating in non-segregated airspace need to operate in accordance with the same tried-and-tested concepts as manned aircraft: they will need to operate in accordance with air traffic control instructions and have compatible communications and navigation capabilities and be able to be seen by air traffic controllers and manned aircraft. Where companies and military forces operate in segregated airspace, measures will have to be in place to ensure that they remain within that airspace.

How are airlines cooperating to address these issues?

IATA is engaged with a number of other stakeholders, including the International Civil Aviation Organization, a number of states, aircraft manufacturers and international organizations, including North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). We are together working to understand the situation in order to advocate for fact-based and data-driven regulations and preparing awareness and education materials. In collaboration with The International Federation of Air Line Pilots’ Associations and Airports Council International, we issued the attached joint statement earlier this year (focusing on low altitude operations around airports).

How serious is the issue?

This issue is evolving much faster than our industry is used to. We are working hard to ensure that the airspace is shared safely between all.

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Published: 02 Mar 2016, 10:41 AM IST
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