SOUTH
After superbikes, drones flown by teens in Kochi are posing a threat to civil aviation. Customs officials are in a fog as unmanned aerial vehicles are used without any regulations. An average of 30 remotely piloted aircraft are seized every month, the customs officials at Cochin International Airport said.
It is mainly teenagers who are flying these machines. Though the devices are not popular in Kerala market, teens who have their parents or relatives in foreign countries manage to get it.
Drones fall under restricted category, and special permission is needed to fly it. Further, they also pose a threat to security and safety of civil aviation, and hence customs officials are forced to confiscate them. "You will have to produce necessary documents to get clearance for flying drones," customs officials said.
In January alone 26 drones were confiscated in the area, The New Indian Express reports.
Customs officials have asked the public to abstain from bringing or sending drones by courier or post without stipulated clearance. A notification issued by Anup Dhawan, the Director General of Foreign Trade, has made it clear that import of unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aircraft systems and remotely piloted aircraft without import licence and clearance from Directorate General of Civil Aviation is restricted.
"Several passengers carry such devices without necessary permissions. We are supposed to confiscate them as they fall under restricted category. The only option available is to either produce required documents or to ship them back to the country from where the flyer had purchased it," customs officers said.
It was only recently that Union Government amended the Customs Baggage Declaration regulations making it mandatory for fliers to obtain import licence to bring drones to the country.
However, film crew and event management companies are using drones regularly, and most of them are using the device flouting norms. It is not allowed in protected areas like near the airport and during the visits of VIPs. Use of drone is also banned in areas like defence outposts, airport, premises of oil companies, etc. owing to security reason.