Call for drone applications to be paused

An aviation advocacy group has called for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to hit the pause button on applications for restricted airspace for long-range drone testing.

However, CAA director Graeme Harris said this week the authority was not considering any moratorium with regards to an airspace designation system "which from our perspective seems to be working fine".

There has been concern in Alexandra after Christchurch-based company Skybase indicated it would re-submit a recently cancelled application to establish 500sqkm of restricted airspace to test drones at long range in Central Otago.

General Aviation Advocacy Group of New Zealand co-principal Brian Mackie wrote to Mr Harris, asking that no applications proceed until the authority investigated the impact on communities, the benefits for general aviation "in return for loss of customary rights", and what benefits there might be in concentrating all drone testing in one area.

Mr Mackie also asked the director if there was a limit on the number of times a company or person could apply for a restricted area in a specific area.

"I haven’t heard one word of support for this [Skybase proposal], and furthermore we know that there isn’t a single aviation organisation in New Zealand that is in support of this ... I haven’t heard a word in favour of it, to be honest, in any shape or form," Mr Mackie said.

"And what is the benefit to New Zealand?

"We haven’t seen any workings that establish a public good."

Mr Harris said had the Alexandra airspace application progressed, one of the crucial elements of the application would have been whether the activity was in the public good.

"Since we didn’t turn our mind to the question, we can’t tell you what the outcome would have been," he said. 

The consultation process was useful because it allowed the CAA to learn about the practical implications on people’s operations if restricted airspace was granted. But, he said, "it isn’t a popularity contest."

Mr Mackie contacted the Otago Daily Times  to raise concerns about why New Zealand would be an attractive place to test the new technology for long-range drone use.

"The answer may lie in our poor liability legal regime, which has its roots in the Accident Compensation legislation," he wrote.

"We still know nothing about the public liability insurance obligations that should be required by the CAA  of any controller of restricted airspace for such tests."

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