Register or throw away your drone- TCAA
What you need to know:
The authority warns that whoever will be found in violation of the established procedure will face serious legal consequences, adding that together with the police they have put in place a task force that will make sure the law is followed.
Dar es Salaam. Operating an unregistered drone after Friday this week may land one in serious trouble with the government, the Tanzania Civil Aviation Authority (TCAA) warned yesterday.
This warning to drone owners comes as an extension of a previous deadline which was issued for December 2019.
As part of the implementation of The Civil Aviation (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) System Regulations 2018 [G.N. 758], TCAA wants all drones to be registered before they can be used inside Tanzania.
Drone owners are supposed to register them with TCAA at its headquarters, or at its offices in Arusha, Dodoma, Iringa, Mwanza, Mtwara, Mbeya, Kilimanjaro, Kigoma, Songea, Tabora, Tanga and Zanzibar, TCAA said in a statement yesterday.
“After this notice, anyone who violates the order will be subjected to severe legal action. The authority in conjunction with the police force have set up a special task force that will oversee the implementation of the regulations,” read part of the statement.
Along with other requirements, the 2018 drones regulations require a person or company to apply for a permit from TCAA before importing same.
In addition, the regulations require owners and users to apply for a permit and provide information to the police force and local governments during use.
Under the regulations, TCAA says normal airworthiness and operations standards do not apply to privately-owned and/or operated unmanned aircraft below seven kilogrammes.
The new regulations, which were adopted in December 2018, received mixed reactions, with some saying it was challenging while others said it was good for security reasons.
Orio Films director Rahim Mngwaya said a requirement for registering the drone was good for security reason, but creating an unpredictable environment for investment because an investor could not be sure whether his application would be approved on time or not.
According to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (Icao) of the United Nations, aircraft capable of being operated without a pilot shall not be so operated except with the authorisation in writing of the authority and in accordance with such conditions as may be specified in the authorisation.
“I was owning the Colifly Company for manufacturing drones, but I had to shut it down after these new regulations scared away my partner from Finland,” said Mr Mngwaya.
The company, which was being run in partnership with the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (Costech) was creating long range drones of up to 105 kilometres.
Mr Mngwaya said since he shut down the company, he shifted his focus on his new company “Orio Films” which uses drones for making documentaries for companies.
“We will always be ready to abide by new regulations as soon as we get a project that needs us to use the drone,” he said.
Tanzania Forest Service Agency (TFS) which plans to start using drones for security purposes in the near future, for its part, welcomed new regulations, saying unless regulated, drones could cause safety concerns.
“It is good to make the country drone-friendly while keeping airspace safe,” in condition of anonymity a credible source from TFS told The Citizen yesterday.
TCAA director general Hamza Johari was in the past quoted by this paper as saying drones may not be flown within 3 kilometres of any domestic airport, or 5 kilometres of any international airport.
“We have to have regulations in place to protect aircraft and stop unlawful activity,” he noted.
The regulations adopted last December required both commercial and private drones to pay $100 (about Sh230,000) in registration fee.
