Source: Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)
4 February 2025 – The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is concerned about any reports of unsafe drone operations near Auckland Airport which have the potential to delay flights.
“Unauthorised drone activity is careless and can present a danger to both aviation and public safety,” says Dean Winter, DCE.
The CAA continues to urge all drone operators to know, understand and comply with the Civil Aviation Rules and to fly responsibly. Anyone who needs to fly drones in controlled airspace must get clearance to do so from Air Traffic Control (ATC). This is easily done by filing a flight request through the Airshare phone app or online through the Airshare website:
New Zealand’s hub for drone users – AirShare: https://govt.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f87e4df3e4e99e9d7eb7b4c7e&id=d1a6b915fc&e=f0dc75bbf6
These incidents highlight the importance of attending drone training courses to understand how to operate drones in a safe manner, especially near airports or other areas where public safety could be impacted.
When drones are reported in the controlled airspace adjacent to airport runways, Air Traffic Control have procedures to segregate passenger aircraft from any potential threat posed by unauthorised drone activity. Whilst this is not a normal situation, the procedures for dealing with such eventualities are trained for.
The airport’s controlled airspace or ‘control zone’ includes areas where aircraft operate at lower altitudes during take-off and landing, which makes the presence of a drone in these areas potentially dangerous.
Drone operators are required to get approval from air traffic control to operate within this airspace. Authorised drone activity within a control zone can occur with prior permission and/or coordination with ATC.
This is just weeks after a drone operator filmed footage during Auckland’s New Year’s Eve celebrations, hovering dangerously close to the top of the Sky Tower.
That flight, conducted at night, violated several Civil Aviation Rules, including flying over people and property without consent, operating within 4km of an aerodrome and flying at an altitude higher than the 120m legal limit.
For more information about safe drone flying, see:
CAA website’s drones section ( https://govt.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f87e4df3e4e99e9d7eb7b4c7e&id=9f31d38b71&e=f0dc75bbf6 )
CAA’s summer campaign actively encourages drone operators to follow the rules ( https://govt.us19.list-manage.com/track/click?u=f87e4df3e4e99e9d7eb7b4c7e&id=8cdc2fd5ac&e=f0dc75bbf6 )