Drone enthusiasts will soon need registration to fly in Myanmar.
Use of drones or unmanned aerial vehicles has, ahem, taken off in the country over the past few years among hobbyists and photographers – students have been taking footage of the widespread flooding – but the law has lagged behind.
While concrete legislation is still at least a year off, according to the Myanmar Times, officials from the Ministry of Transport’s Department of Civil Aviation are implementing interim rules governing who flies drones and where.
Two areas, in Mandalay and Yangon, will be designated for casual drone users who must register with the DCA while those who use UAVs commercially can apply for permission.
The DCA has been in talks about the plans with enthusiast society the Myanmar RC Builders and Flyers Club.
U Win Naing, who heads up the club, said he had suggested the Hmawbi air force base or Thilawa Special Economic Zone in Yangon.
“If it goes down on a car or building, you can pay compensation,” he said. “But if it hits people’s heads, you’re going to jail. There’s no cure.”
The DCA said it’s studying the regulations of Southeast Asian countries like Singapore, which implemented a new law earlier this year.
Their rules require users to get permits for flying near airports, shoot aerial photography or fly a drone heavier than 7kg. Security-sensitive areas are off-limits. Violators can be fined $20,000, imprisoned for a year, or both.
The United States is so serious about it that lawmakers are reportedly proposing an “invisible dog fence”. Yes, really.
Photo / Henrique Boney / Wikicommons
