The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has today launched its new national drone registration scheme and another service called “Drones Reunited”, a platform set up to help recover the thousands of drones lost in the UK each year. The registration scheme is mandatory for all drone owners and operators in the UK having drones over 250g and operator registration costs UKP9.00. Registration must be completed by 30th November 2019. Failure to do so leaves drone users at risk of penalties up to UKP1,000. According to the UK drone association ARPAS UK:
“You must have two registrations in place before you fly a drone or model aircraft that’s 250g to 20kg:
- anyone who will fly must pass a theory test to get a flyer ID
- the person that’s responsible for the drone or model aircraft must register to get an operator ID
You need to register to get a flyer ID and operator ID. Organisations that are responsible for drones or model aircraft must register their organisation for an operator ID. If you’re responsible for a drone or model aircraft, you must label it with your operator ID.”
According to the CAA, Drones Reunited will help drone users recover their missing machines – a serious problem for flyers, as new research reveals that over a quarter of drone owners (26%) have lost a drone. “The study found that drones are most at risk of being lost due to flight malfunctions – with more than half (51%) of misplaced drones going missing due to battery loss, poor signal, or a technology failure. And in a quarter of cases it’s down to pilot error. Most worryingly for drone owners, when a drone is lost there is no clear procedure for getting it back.”
- According to an exclusive report in sUAS News (https://www.suasnews.com/2019/11/uk-caa-chose-the-most-expensive-registration-database-operator/) “The much-touted drone and model aircraft registration scheme goes live today and we know the CAA spent UKP4.1 million pounds (5.2 million USD) to set it up, with a projected annual running cost of UKP2.8 million pounds…The lowest bid to run the service was just UKP753,812.”
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