The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit recently ruled against a 2015 Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulation requiring drone owners to register their crafts.
Congress barred the FAA from imposing new regulations on model aircraft in 2012, the court said.
Since 2015, more than 1.6 million drones have been registered. An estimated 23 million drones will be in commercial and private use by 2021.
Registration costs $5, and owners are required to mark their drones with identification numbers or face imprisonment.
The Air Line Pilots Association, International (ALPA) opposes the court’s ruling, calling it a threat to national security.
“ALPA fully supports the safe integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace and has worked with the FAA and industry stakeholders to ensure a regulatory framework that places safety first,” ALPA said. “However, the FAA has a responsibility to protect our skies and should be able to fully regulate the safe operation of UAS for all users of our skies, including hobbyists and recreational flyers of drones. The court’s decision has thwarted those efforts, and Congress needs to act to protect the flying public.”
Congress must enact legislation to give the FAA authority to fully regulate UAS hobbyists and recreational flyers, ALPA said.