New drone bill will enforce registration for owners of drones weighing over 250g and introduce safety awareness courses for all users when published in 2018

The government is planning to create a raft of new police powers as part of a crackdown on the civilian use of drones, the Department for Transport has announced.

The new drone bill to be published in 2018 will allow police officers to order drone operators to ground their devices where necessary, alongside a series of new changes that will create a mandatory registry for larger unmanned aerial vehicles, such as those sold by Parrot or DJI.

It could also include a ban on drones flying near airports or above 122 metres (400 feet), the government says, and a requirement for drone owners to use apps, rather than simple remote controls, to fly their aircraft, in order to ensure that the rules are always readily accessible and incorporated into the flight plan.

The proposed bill will be accompanied by changes to the air navigation order that will introduce safety awareness tests for drone users, and the requirement to register with the government before flying drones that weigh more than 250g.

Aviation Minister Baroness Sugg said: “Drones have great potential and we want to do everything possible to harness the benefits of this technology as it develops, but if we are to realise the full potential of this incredibly exciting technology, we have to take steps to stop illegal use of these devices and address safety and privacy concerns.

“These new laws strike a balance, to allow the vast majority of drone users to continue flying safely and responsibly, while also paving the way for drone technology to revolutionise businesses and public services.”

Tim Johnson, policy director at the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), said: “The CAA supports the safe development of drones in the UK. Drones can bring economic and workplace safety benefits but to achieve those we need everyone flying a drone now to do so safely. We welcome plans to increase drone operator training, safety awareness and the creation of no-fly zones.”

National Police Chiefs’ Council lead for criminal misuse of drones, Assistant Chief Constable Serena Kennedy, said: “Police forces are aware of the ever increasing use of drones by members of the public and we are working with all relevant partners to understand the threats that this new technology can pose when used irresponsibly or illegally. Do not take this lightly – if you use a drone to invade people’s privacy or engage in disruptive behaviour, you could face serious criminal charges.”

The 250g weight limit proposed by the new law is the same as that used in the US to define the lowest-risk category of drones – those that weigh so little that they are unlikely to damage people or property in the event of failure.

But major drone manufacturers including DJI, a Chinese firm that dominates the market for semi-professional UAVs, have attacked the weight limit for being based on “poorly chosen data and deeply flawed assumptions.”

The US regulator’s calculations, DJI said, “were based on assumptions dating back 48 years about the lack of medical care in a thermonuclear war. These assumptions, which should have been rejected long ago as a basis for measuring … impact risk, result in a far higher estimated fatality rate than is realistic in a modern society.”

Instead, the drone manufacturer argued, “the upper weight limit for a ‘lowest-risk’ [drone] is nearly an order of magnitude greater: around 2.2 kilograms”.