Chinese authorities solicit opinions about new regulations on drones

Chinese authorities are soliciting opinions from the public on the country's new official regulations on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, reports thepaper.cn.

The regulations, published on the website of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, cover drones flying under remote control by a human operator or autonomously by onboard computers.

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), or drone, hovers in Linyi city, east China's Shandong province, 9 April 2016.[Photo: IC]

Flying model aircraft are managed by other regulations.

Detailed aspects about the drones such as their design, manufacture, aviation control, ownership registration, and accident investigation are all included in the new regulations.

Civilian drones with an empty weight of 0.25 kilograms and above are required to be registered under the owner's real name, according to the regulations.

The flight plans of mini drones, which refers to drones with an empty weight of less than 0.25 kilograms with a certain design, will no longer need to be reported to local aviation authorities in advance, if the flights are conducted outside the no-fly zones as stipulated in the regulations.

Flight plan application and approval procedures for some other drones in certain scenarios will also be simplified.

Punishments such as fines for manufacturers and users have also been included in the regulations.