Surrendering Drones at Designated Locations: China Sets No-Fly Zone 2.8 Times the Size of South Korea

In Beijing, China, flying drones is now strictly prohibited, and even keeping them at home has been banned.

Starting today, authorities have established and begun enforcing a massive no-fly zone that spans an area 2.8 times the size of South Korea's territory.

"This is a drone I only kept in storage, but now I'm told I can't keep it at home and must dispose of it,"

said a Beijing resident in a video documenting his journey to return his drone.

Beijing has strictly banned the operation of personal drones since last May, and starting November 15, residents will be barred from possessing or storing not only drones but also their core components.

Drones located in Beijing must be moved outside the city, surrendered at designated locations, or disposed of, but complaints are rising because the government compensation being offered is exceedingly low.

[It's not a registered drone, so there's no compensation. (There's no compensation?) Right, if it was registered, we give you 200 yuan.]

Beyond tightening crackdowns on drones, the authorities have also drastically expanded no-fly zones.

The no-fly zone established starting today centers around Beijing with a diameter of 600 kilometers, encompassing neighboring Tianjin, Hebei Province, and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The scale is approximately 2.8 times the total land area of South Korea.

"This measure was taken to significantly strengthen airspace security following a light aircraft collision with Beijing's tallest skyscraper visible right over there last June."

Although authorities stated that the cause of the collision was personal reasons, the incident drew criticism for exposing vulnerabilities in the air defense network as the light aircraft strayed far off its designated route and approached Beijing's core business district.

China announced that within the special restricted zone, all flight activities are prohibited except for regular commercial flights and pre-approved flights such as police or firefighting operations, and even if operation is permitted, separate approval must be obtained if there is any possibility of straying from the route.

※