Yunnan Province receives a combined total of more than 430 million tourists from within China and outside the country. (Photo : Getty Images)
Kunming Changshui International Airport on China's Yunnan Province has declared war on illegal drone flights that may affect aircraft safety. The Chinese airport has launched a hotline that people can contact and offered cash for information on miscreant drone pilots due to the number of recent incidents that have happened.
After several drones were seen in the airport's restricted zone, the authorities stated that they will offer 1,000 yuan as cash reward to informants. There have been four to five incidents that involve drones in the vicinity of the airport for the past two days.
Airports in Shenzhen (South China's Guangdong Province) and in Mianyang (Southwest China's Sichuan Province) also reported unknown flying drones last week that caused several flight delays and cancellations.
Drone use in China has been rapidly increasing, especially for entertainment purposes. However, experts noted that there are still no comprehensive laws or regulations with regard to standardizing the use of aircraft and managing their safe operation.
Ke Yubao, the secretary-general of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association of China, said: "There are more than 20,000 drones in China, but only half of their operators have driving licenses."
The AOPA is the only organization that distributes Civil Unmanned Aircraft System Pilot Certificates, a driving license for drones.
China Metropolis Daily reported that lawmakers in Sichuan also previously suggested a real-name buyer registration scheme. This is to better track down misbehaved and irresponsible drone owners.
"Most drone buyers are just armchair pilots, so they need to be educated in safe use and about risks," said Hou Min, a deputy director at the AOPA.
Hou added: "Drone pilots must be informed of safety concerns, such as avoiding collisions with aircraft or the risk of fire--some users had apparently attached fireworks to drones during the Spring Festival holiday--and also security concerns, as drones can be used to spy on military and intelligence facilities."
It is reported that there was a total of 327 incidents in the world where drones came dangerously close to civilian aircraft from Dec. 2013 to Sept. 2014. Of these incidents, 28 caused aircraft to adjust their course to avoid collision.
