Bangladesh Preps Drone Draft Policies

Even as the FAA continues to grapple with drone regulations, other nations are also scrambling to balance evolving UAV technology with some form of regulation.

Last week, for example, Bangladesh announced the creation of a draft policy governing drones. BDNews24.com reports the Civil Aviation Authority Bangladesh (CAAB) met with a parliamentary standing committee on civil aviation to hammer out new UAV rules.

“The authorities have been asked to even include children’s toy plane in the policy because they can also be used in many sinister activities,” Committee Chair Muhammad Faruk Khan told the media, adding that, reminiscent of the FAA’s recent registration task force, the government would seek input from drone users and companies.

Under the new policy, all drone users must obtain permission from the CAAB before flying a UAV – however, the policy also states that users may only have to get permission from local police if flying in an area with no airports. According to government officials, 38 illegal drones had been seized at airports over a three-month period.

Previously, the government had discussed regulating non-toy drones only. “We are not talking about those toy flying objects which can gain height of only 5 to 10 feet. A drone is bigger and more powerful,” CAAB Flight Safety and Regulations Division Director Nazmul Anam stated in media reports in January. “They can be fitted with cameras and can fly up to 100 to 200 feet. Those will definitely require permits,” he added.

Drone regulation has also garnered some attention in Bangladesh’s neighbor, India. Last year, Mumbai police banned the use of drones within the city. As reported in DRONELIFE, “The original ban was supposed to be lifted on September 9 [2014], with the conclusion of the local Ganesh festival. However, Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria said the ban will remain in place until regulatory laws are implemented for consumer drones.”

In July, two housing.com employees were arrested for flying a drone in Mumbai, leading the Indian Express news outlet to remind readers that “there has actually been a ban on flying drones in India since October 2014, but not everyone is really aware of it — this has not resulted in a stop on the sale of drones in India through online e-tailers and even toy store.”