IATA rings caution bells on allowing use of drones

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) on Wednesday cautioned the country’s aviation regulator on allowing the use of drones, saying the potential for collisions between manned and unmanned aircraft is growing alarmingly.

IATA’s comments came as Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a draft regulation, first-of-its-kind in India, on the use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems(UAS). Deccan Herald had on Monday reported about DGCA issuing the draft Civil Aviation Regulations (CAR) in this regard.

Director (ATM Infrastructure) of IATA Rob Eagles said 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,” Eagles said even as he acknowledged that there is not yet enough scientific data regarding the specific damages likely to be caused by these collisions on manned aircraft of all types.

Another problem, he said, was that many of the unmanned aircraft operators are new to the field of aviation.

The hazards involving manned and unmanned aircraft operating together in the same airspace requires education of the drone operators, he said.

“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,” he said.

On the threat perception, he said drones are a threat in every airspace. “We are not aware of any particular issue that distinguishes India from other states,” he added.
DH News Service