To promote the development of Hong Kong’s low-altitude economy, the Government is planning a series of legislative amendments.
According to a Hong Kong government press communications, Civil Aviation Department (CAD) Operations Officer Nicole Law said that the Government is now working to amend the current SUA Order to add a new Category C aircraft to cover unmanned aircraft weighing more than 25kg but not more than 150kg.
“At the same time, provisions will be introduced in the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 to facilitate the trials of various unconventional aircraft in Hong Kong, such as unmanned aircraft weighing over 150kg, so that the emerging technologies for LAE can be trialled under specified conditions, provided that aviation safety requirements are met.”
The amendments to the Small Unmanned Aircraft Order and the Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 were published in the Gazette on May 23 and the legislative amendment proposals were tabled in the Legislative Council on May 28. It is expected that both amendments will come into effect in mid-July 2025, she added.
The Government launched the first batch of low-altitude economy (LAE) Regulatory Sandbox pilot projects in March and these projects are being rolled out progressively, according to the government press release. Under the framework of the sandbox pilot projects, CLP Power’s drone team began a beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) pilot scheme to inspect overhead lines at a test site in Sai Wan in Sai Kung.
CLP Power Principal Manager – Logistics & Transport Edward Chan said under the LAE Regulatory Sandbox pilot projects, the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) has relaxed the existing restriction on BVLOS operations to allow a drone to fly beyond a pilot’s line of sight.
“We submitted four inspection routes to the Government, covering overhead line facilities in some sparsely populated areas and also urban districts. In April, we began the BVLOS operation in one of the pilot sites, which is in Sai Wan of Sai Kung. We carried out a test flight under different scenarios, including manual operation by remote pilots and also automated inspection of our outdoor power facilities. Although Sai Wan is relatively remote, but the signal reception during the trial was smooth.”
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https://www.news.gov.hk/eng/2025/06/20250612/20250612_103837_097.html?type=ticker
(Image: Hong Kong Government)
