The UK Government is conducting consultations on proposed charges regarding the mandated Drone Registration Scheme which will take off on 1 October 2019. This means that once it is approved and the initial fee determined which will be decided by the government in July, drone owners will have to pay a licence fee that will be used in funding the registration scheme.

According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), the proposed charges £16.50 per drone operator and shall cover the following components of the scheme:

• IT hosting and security costs;
• CAA personnel and helpdesk;
• identity verification;
• a national education and awareness campaign; and
• costs of  further upgrades to the initial drone registration service.

Any drone owner aged 18 and above with a drone that weighs more than 250 grams (8oz) will have to register as the official drone owner. The CAA estimates that around 170,000 will sign up to the scheme.

The UK is putting more regulations for more responsible use of drones. The airports around the country, especially the major ones are being affected by drones that can cause accidents leading the cancellation of flights. Gatwick airport cancelled flights when drone sightings were reported near the airport in December 2018 during the Holiday season leading to around a thousand flights cancelled affecting approximately 140,000. Heathrow airport, one of the busiest airports in the world also reported drone sightings in January 2019.

The full consultation document is available to anyone interested and responses can be given online. If you are a drone owner who has concerns regarding the proposed regulations and charges, better get your responses in before it’s too late.