PETALING JAYA, March 3 – The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) said that flying of unauthorised drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) within the area of airports is strictly prohibited. Its director-general Datuk Azharuddin Abdul Rahman was quoted as saying in a statement today that such acts would disrupt the safety of flight operations. “The DCA is concerned with the recent development of drone operations for recreational or commercial purposes.
“These drones or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) have encroached into airports which may disrupt the safety of flight operations. “Any intention to fly drones or UAV in Malaysian airspace requires DCA approval. The DCA wishes to inform that flying of unauthorised drones or UAV in the vicinity of airports is strictly prohibited and constitutes an offence under the Civil Aviation Act 1969.”
The Regulation of Civil Aviation under the Civil Aviation Act 1969 states that the Transport Minister has the power to make rulings as he considers necessary in regulating civil aviation. Section 3 (h) of the Act states that the minister may make regulations for “minimising or preventing interference with the use or effectiveness of apparatus used in connection with air navigation and prohibiting or regulating the use of such apparatus and the display of signs and lights liable to endanger aircraft.
Malaysiakini reported that an Instagram user with the screen name “yengnasir” has been posting pictures of his UAV flying into the controlled airspace of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The UAV which was equipped with a camera, snapped pictures of two aircraft approaching the runway of KLIA three months ago and has since sparked outrage after it went viral on the social media.
