Govt permits flying commercial drones day-time from December 1, caps flying altitude at 400 feet

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The government has permitted commercial flying of drones from December 1, according to a statement from ministry of civil aviation. There are two key restrictions that have been put in place for safe use of drones. The drones will be allowed to fly only along visual line-of-sight and only during day-time with a maximum altitude of 400 feet.

The rules announced Monday  are called Drone Regulations 1.0. The government has divided the airspace into three zones: red (flying not permitted), yellow (controlled airspace) and green (automatic permission).

Safety regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation has put drones into 5 categories based on their weight, namely nano, micro, small, medium and large.

An operator permit will be required to fly the drones except for flying nano drone below 50 feet and micro drone for flying at less than 200 feet. Government agencies will not need permits to fly the drones.

Areas around airports, international borders, Vijay Chowk (the area near the Parliament in Delhi), secretariat complex in state capitals, strategic locations and military establishment have been put under ‘no drone zones’.

For flying in controlled airspace, filing of flight plan, and obtaining air defence clearance will be necessary.

The press release said the taskforce on drones, chaired by Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha, will provide draft recommendations for Drone Regulations 2.0. These norms will explore permitting flying drones beyond visual line-of-sight.