The Government announces new rules after research shows drones could crash aircraft windscreens and shatter helicopter rotors.
The new measures come after research found the gadgets posed a real danger of smashing plane windscreens and shattering helicopter rotors.
Users will soon have to pass a safety awareness test as part of the process of registering a drone, which may be enabled by an app-based system.
Forty eight near-misses between planes and unmanned aerial vehicles have been reported in the first half of this year alone, and pilots have warned that the situation is potentially “catastrophic”.
Flights had to be diverted at Gatwick earlier this month when a drone was spotted on a flight path, while in June a pilot in Edinburgh had to take swift action when a drone passed just 20 metres from his aircraft
“Readily-available drones which can be flown by anyone can shatter or go straight through an aircraft windshield or shatter a helicopter rotor, ” said Brian Strutton, the general secretary of the pilots’ union BALPA.
“We hope that urgent Government action will now follow to control this proven threat before there is a disaster and lives are lost.”
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The Department for Transport, which funded the research with Balpa and the Military Aviation Authority, said it was exploring how best to enforce the registration requirements.
It is also exploring the option of geo-fencing, which prevents drones from entering restricted areas such as airfields or prisons.
Last year police recorded 3,456 incidents involving drones, a figure than 12 times the number logged in 2014.
The gadgets had been used in “scoping exercises” and snooping operations, the reports showed, as well as being implicated in rows between neighbours, prison smuggling and burglary .
Aviation minister Lord Callanan said the regulations will “prioritise protecting the public while maximising the full potential of drones”.
“Increasingly, drones are proving vital for inspecting transport infrastructure for repair or aiding police and fire services in search and rescue operations, even helping to save lives, ” he said. “But like all technology, drones too can be misused.”
At present, only commercial drone operators have to notify regulators and complete a training course in order to use the flying vehicles.
