China requires real-name registration for civilian drones

A man operates a drone to carry out spraying operations over a wheat field in Xinghua, East China's Jiangsu province, April 30, 2017. [Photo/VCG]

BEIJING - China will require civilian drones weighing more than 250 grams to be registered under real names starting from June 1 to improve civil aviation safety, the country's civil aviation regulator announced Tuesday.

Registration of civilian drones is a common international practice and the foundation for better management, and China will launch the registration system on Thursday, according to Zhang Ruiqing, a senior official with Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC).

The government is also working on systems to share and check civilian drone registration data.

Recent cases have indicated that unregulated civilian drones could pose a threat to the safety of civil aviation.

The CAAC will release information of areas surrounding airports that ban the flying of civilian drones and work with local governments and public security authorities to monitor and crack down on unregulated civilian drones.