New federal regulations mean keep drones away from air traffic

Mar 17, 2017 | 6:00 PM

KAMLOOPS — Love them or hate them, they are here to stay. Drones are becoming an increasingly common fixture in our airspace. Whether they are used by professionals like photographers and videographers, or by recreational fliers just looking to have some fun, in recent years there have been many close calls between drones and commercial airlines, causing concern about the safety risk they pose to the public. New regulations introduced by Transport Canada this week could ground drones in urban areas for good.

WATCH: Full report by Adam Donnelly

While flying drones is a fun way for some folks to unwind, Transport Canada gave its drone regulations some teeth this week.

“They took what have actually been just guidelines, and they’ve embedded them into the regulations, so now they’ve become enforceable,” Fred Legace, Manager of YKA, explained.

The rules apply to anyone flying recreationally. You can’t fly your UAV higher than 90 metres, you can’t fly within 75 meters of a building, and you can’t fly if you’re within a 9-kilometre radius of a forest fire, or of any place aircraft take-off and land. The penalty for breaking these rules is a hefty fine, up to $3000.

The no-fly zone extends 9km around any aerodrome (any place aircraft take off or land) effectively rendering much of Kamloops off-limits for recreational drone pilots.

“Don’t forget we also have a heliport at the hospital, so it’s also a 9km circle around that, as well,” Legace added. “You’re probably now taking in almost all the urban area of Kamloops that’s going to unavailable for operating drones.”

Andrew Challenger is the owner and operator of Superfly Aerial Images. As a professional drone operator, he’s had a standing SFOC – which stands for Special Flight Operations Certificate – which allows him to fly his drone within the 9km restricted area around aerodromes.

“The rules they’re enforcing on recreational users all of them can be bypassed with an SFOC,” Challenger explains. “If you contact Transport Canada, work with the airport, and make sure what you’re doing is actually safe then you can fly inside that 9km range.”

For Legace, it all comes back to safety and minimising potential interactions between drones and aircraft.

“This is just one more thing that’s 100% preventable,” Legace says, about keeping drones away from aircraft. “It’s all just about safety, that’s all.”