Drone operators to register equipment from today

Feb 27, 2017 News

Persons who own and operate drones or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) are now required to obtain permission from the Guyana Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) before using these devices.

Operators and owners of drones will now have to get permission before flying.

The Authority announced yesterday in a newspaper advertisement that a Directive will come into effect today mandating that all operators of drones seek permission first from the GCAA. However, permission will not be necessary if the device is not being used for aerial work or any other commercial activity and is not transmitting information other than that necessary to control the device.
This sort of control is not new in the Caribbean Region. In April last year, Barbados had instituted a 12 month ban on the importation of drones or UAVs. The reason for this ban was to allow authorities to complete a legal framework to govern the use of the devices and create a database of all drones on the island.
Over the past two years, Barbados, like Guyana, would have experienced an increase in the number of drones being used for both commercial and recreational use. In Barbados, concerns were raised regarding the use of the devices and the risks they posed to security, privacy and safety.
Further, in Trinidad and Tobago, the government in 2015 had moved to institute strict legal regulations which would make the devices illegal if the owner did not possess the required registration certificate from aviation authorities. According to the directives issued by the GCAA yesterday, a person who wishes to operate an UAV must apply to the authority in writing for approval and will provide the details on the purpose of the intended operation.
Additionally, the drones are not to be flown above a height of 150 metres, at a distance greater than 500 metres from the point at which the operator is positioned, at night or low visibility conditions, over or near to private or public property without prior permission from the owner, in a reckless or unsafe manner or over any establishment or zone designated in a government notice as a prohibited area.
Paragraph 10 of the Directive requires operators of UAVs to ensure they have in their possession the necessary permit which shall be issued by the GCAA. To acquire this permit, the operator would need to provide proof that he or she has been trained, tested and found to be competent to operate as the pilot an UAV.
Such persons who wishes to operate the device would also need to provide the GCAA with information relating to the area within which operation is intended, using a map, details of the model aircraft, purpose for which the information collected will be used, proof of liability insurance and the date and time during which the applicant wishes to operate the aircraft.
These are just some of the measures which the GCAA will be implementing to control and monitor the use of drones and the information which they record.
In Guyana drones are mostly used to take aerial pictures. They are also used for wildlife conservation purposes to track down animals in hard to reach terrain.
Further, the Wapishana tribe of Guyana who reside at the edge of the rainforest around the Rupununi Savannah use drones to catch perpetrators who conduct illegal logging and gold mining activities.

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