Tourists’ drones a problem

WELLINGTON: Drones are proving to be a headache in tourist hotspots like Queenstown and Tekapo — prompting the Civil Aviation Authority to look at tougher rules for recreational drone operators.

The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) said an independently commissioned survey showed about 280,000 New Zealanders either owned or had flown a drone.

CAA said it was more worried about the 200,000 overseas tourists who brought their drones on holiday with them here each year.

They were among a list of points raised at a seminar in Nelson for commercial drone operators and aviation industry specialists.

Senior technical specialist Mark Houston with the CAA said the rules developed for commercial users may be used to create more stringent regulations for recreational users.

Mr Houston said while some tourists took the time to ask about the rules before bringing their drone, many did not and were unaware of the rules around privacy and safety.

He said it was causing problems in pressure points such as Queenstown, Milford Sound and one of the country’s most photographed chapels, the Church of the Good Shepherd.

‘‘I was in Tekapo recently and they were having tremendous issues with drones being flown around the wee church on the lakeshore there.

‘‘There were people trying to fly in through the doors and things like that.’’

CAA was working with tour companies to highlight the rules around drone use, Mr Houston said.

Specialists said modern technology meant drones were now easier to operate than a model aeroplane.

Aviation sector adviser Ken McMillan, of Service IQ, an industry training organisation that set aviation unit standards, said the technology had taken off faster than the rules had kept pace with.

‘‘When the drone phenomenon took off everyone raced in and tried to organise everything, but the magnitude of drone flying has outgrown qualifications, if you like, so what we’ve had in the past is really, really outdated.’’

CAA said there were now 105 certified commercial drone operators, and another 40 waiting to be certified.

The biggest growth in commercial use had come from real estate agents.

Although there were fewer rules governing recreational users, they still had to meet a range of conditions, such as not flying within 4km of an airport and having the consent of anyone they want to fly above.

Jeremy Sharp from Airways New Zealand said air traffic controllers were seeing more drones, especially around Auckland.

‘‘That’s not to say it’s not happening elsewhere but to actually see a drone is pretty difficult, so when a pilot reports a drone, it’s the tip of the iceberg,’’ he said.

Mr Sharp said Airways was already trialling drone detection systems.

Mr Sharp agreed it was time the rules were reviewed for drone use, but said the 1542 bird strikes and 281 reported laser strikes on aircraft over the past three years remained a bigger risk to aviation than drones. — RNZ