A few days ago, the State Council and the Central Military Commission announced the "Interim Regulations on the Management of Unmanned Aircraft Flights", which will be implemented in mainland China on January 1, 2024. This is my country's first specialized administrative regulation for the management of unmanned aircraft, which is of great significance to the development of the drone industry.
How to understand the concepts of "flyable airspace" and "controlled airspace"?
The "Regulations" create new concepts of "flyable airspace" and "controlled airspace" for drones. Controlled airspace mainly includes air restricted areas, air dangerous areas, airports, national borders, border lines, military restricted areas, military management areas, radio astronomy observatories, flammable and explosive dangerous goods enterprises and warehouses and other core and sensitive areas that need to be protected, except for The airspace below 120 meters outside the controlled airspace is classified as "flyable airspace" and is open to users of micro, light, small, and agricultural drones with relatively small operational safety risks, lowering the threshold for legal flight.
Details are as follows:
· Controlled airspace
1. Airspace above 120 meters true height
2.? Air restricted areas, airspace Restricted area and surrounding airspace
3. Military aviation ultra-low-altitude flight airspace
4. The other eight areas below
(1) Airport and a certain surrounding area areas;
(2) National boundaries, lines of actual control, and areas within a certain range on our side of the border;
(3) Military restricted areas, military management areas, and supervision areas Sites and other confidential units and surrounding areas within a certain range;
(4) Protection areas for important military facilities, control areas for nuclear facilities, production and storage areas for flammable and explosive and other dangerous goods, and important flammable materials Large-scale storage areas;
(5) Power plants, substations, gas stations, water supply plants, public transportation hubs, aviation and power hubs, major water conservancy facilities, ports, highways, railways Public infrastructure such as electrified lines, as well as a certain range of surrounding areas and drinking water source protection zones;
(6) Radio astronomy observatories, satellite measurement and control (navigation) stations, aeronautical radio navigation stations, radar stations, etc. Facilities that require special protection of the electromagnetic environment and surrounding areas within a certain range;
(7) Important revolutionary memorial sites, important immovable cultural relics and surrounding areas within a certain range;
(8) Other areas specified by the national air traffic management authority.
The specific scope of controlled airspace is determined by air traffic management agencies at all levels in accordance with the regulations of the national air traffic management leadership agency, and is announced by the people's government at or above the districted municipal level. The unit releases navigation information.
· Airspace suitable for flying
The airspace outside the controlled airspace is the airspace suitable for micro, light and small unmanned aircraft.