Drone users soon need permission to operate

All drones will soon have to be registered and its users certified as authorities move swiftly to regulate the industry, which is becoming increasingly popular in Guyana.

Director of the Civil Aviation Authority, Egbert Field told reporters on Thursday that a drone unit is being established to monitor the operations of these aerial devices in the local airspace as the practice is becoming more prevalent.

He noted that this move is a response to government’s announcement to use drones for hinterland patrol.

“The Authority is taking its cue and being proactive…we’ll have to register drones, we’ll have to give approvals for flights, also certify the persons flying drones,” Field explained.

The Director General said he has already requested monies to be allocated in the upcoming budget for this new agency, which he said will be staffed with persons with knowledge of the aviation sector.

Drones are used for a variety of purposes including for recreational activities, in the media industry, for spraying crops, map territories, and patrol and inspections.

“That’s an industry by itself and we are gearing ourselves and building our capacity to deal with (this). We have already issued directives for the use of drones, so we have to move that now from directives straight into regulations,” Field stated.

Further, the Director General said there are different arrangements in the approval process which will be based on a number of factors including the various categories of users of drones.