New rules in South Africa for the regulation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will
be formally put into effect on 1 July 2015 by the South African Civil Aviation
Authority (SACAA). According to the Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Association of
South Africa (CUAASA), an aviation industry organisation, the new regulations may
impede a number of local sectors, including the production industry where drones
are often used to capture aerial footage.
At a workshop aimed at informing members about the new regulations, which ran
from 10 to 13 June in Centurion, CUAASA explained a number of implications.
According to a report by Defence Web on the event, CUAASA said, “SACAA has
given notice that – based on their interpretation of the legislation – they intend to
subject drone license applicants to the same rigorous process as commercial freight
and passenger airlines at the Air Services Licensing Council. This is untenable and
unreasonable – akin to subjecting a model boat to a warship review.”
The report includes further comment from CUAASA which stated, “Moreover they will not recognise, or make a “grandfather clause’ allowance for
pilots with years of experience who will simply be lumped together with novice
applicants who have never flown before. That is not say that licensing must be a
“free for all’. Technical standards and testing for Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) pilots are essential. The immediate problem however is that no such standards exist and, as a consequence, no pilots will be able to apply to fly RPAS when the Amendment comes into effect on 1 July.’
These regulations could further impact job creation and according to economist
Doctor Roelof Botha, who conducted an economic impact assessment using CUAASA
and its members, could result in approximately 2 022 less jobs and the loss of
millions of Rands in taxes.
Source: Defence Web
