Drones and airports: What you need to know

This does not, however, necessarily mean that these drone flights were unlawful, according to Luke Gumley, Airservices’ head of transformation for uncrewed services.

“The majority of the flights we see through our detection capability that we can see around our 29 controlled aerodromes are being operated lawfully – so they’re staying outside the three nautical mile or no drone zone, and they’re staying below 400 feet AGL and away from the approach and departure paths,” Gumley said.

“Both commercial and recreational pilots, for the most part, are excellent at operating their drones safely, but we are noticing that there are more and more drones operating. They’re not necessarily unlawful – we just can detect both lawful and unlawful drones, and we’re seeing more drones operating in Australian skies.”

What are the rules?

The regulations surrounding flying a drone near an airport vary in part depending on the size of the drone and whether it is controlled airspace (generally, having a control tower). According to CASA, drones weighing more than 250g cannot be flown within 5.5km of a controlled airport, while micro drones weighing less than 250g can be used within 5.5km, but only to a height of 45 metres.

All drones, however, can operate within the outer runway splays of a controlled airport up to a height of 90 metres, while licenced and certified operators can apply to CASA for permission to operate within 5.5 kilometres and in approach/departure paths of controlled airports.

When an airport is not controlled, such as at a helicopter landing site or smaller aerodrome without a tower, drones may be flown within 5.5 kilometres, but operators must manoeuvre away and land as quickly and safely as possible if they become aware of crewed aircraft nearby.

Drone operators who break the rules could be fined up to $1,565 per offence by CASA, though if summoned to attend court, penalties can include criminal convictions, flight restrictions, and fines of up to $15,650. Moreover, if your drone is a hazard to other aircraft or if you interfere with a drone, you could be fined up to $37,901 or sent to jail for up to two years.

What are the risks?

While there have yet to be any serious incidents in Australia, there have been collisions and near-misses between drones and manned aircraft around the world, some of which have resulted in damage to planes and helicopters. More practically, because of these safety risks, Gumley says aircraft need to be informed when drones are operating unlawfully in the area, which can cause delays and disruptions.

“That can cause things like diversion of the aircraft, go-arounds or holding, which of course, then throws some of the airport patterns into disarray. So the challenges that we see from unlawful drone operations, albeit that they don’t occur very often, really are around disrupting the flow of operations at a major airport,” he said.

Areas at high risk for unlawful drone flights often tend to be scenic spots near airports – for example, beautiful beaches near Adelaide and Sydney Airports that people might want to take aerial photos or video of.

“Unlawful drone use might be someone operating at a beach, let’s say taking a picture of the sunset of the picturesque beach, and that might be within the no-fly zone of a particular airport,” said Gumley. “So we do see some instances of, I’ll call them hotspots of activity. You’ll see people that will fly in that particular location more than perhaps in other areas that have less attractive sights that a drone pilot might want to film.”

Ultimately, Gumley says Airservices wants all drone operators – be they recreational or commercial – to know the basic air safety rules and understand their responsibilities. “Airservices would be keen for everyone, whether they’re a recreational drone pilot or traditional aircraft pilot, to all understand they’re part of the aviation ecosystem, and operating in airspace comes with obligations to know where and how to operate a drone safely,” he said.

“This is particularly the case near airports where aircraft are operating at lower altitudes. Airservices Australia encourages all drone pilots to know the drone rules and to be aware of where they can and can’t operate, and of course, the easiest way to do this is to visit knowyourdrone.gov.au and to download a drone safety app.”