UAE Halts Drone Activity in Country

UAE Halts Drone Activity in Country

The United Arab Emirates flag flies in front of the Jumeirah Beach Residence in Dubai. (Reuters file photo)

The United Arab Emirates has stopped most private drones and light sports aircraft used for recreational purposes for a month starting Saturday, the Interior Ministry announced in a statement.

It said the Gulf nation has grounded all flying operations for owners, practitioners and enthusiasts of drones, including drones and light sports aircrafts, in addition to air and sail sports.

“Air activities will be suspended as of Saturday, January 22, 2022,” the Ministry statement stressed.

The decision was put in place in coordination with the General Authority for Civil Aviation and in line with the relative guidelines.

“It came after the misuse spotted recently, not limiting the practice of these sports to the areas identified in the user permits and trespassing into areas where these types of activities are prohibited,” the statement noted.

The Emirati authorities asked the community to respect the authorities' directives in order to ensure the safety of lives and property, preserving them from unsafe bad practices.

“Entities that have work contracts or commercial or advertising projects that rely on filming using drones must communicate with the permit authorities to take the necessary exceptions and permits to