Brits are facing a £16.50 fee to register their done every single year, if proposals from the Civil Aviation Authority come to fruition.
The CAA wants to collect the fee to cover the cost of the registration scheme, which includes IT hosting, security costs, a helpdesk and identity verification services.
Part of the proposed fee will also go towards a national campaign to raise awareness about responsible drone use, while a portion will also be set aside for upgrading the registration scheme in the future.
The proposals will be subject to a public consultation period, which will run from now until June 7. That’s ahead of of the government-mandated UK Drone Registration Scheme, which will be launched later this year. It is set to be open on October 1, ahead of the legal requirement coming into play on November 30 .
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In a web post on Wednesday, the CAA said, while taxpayer money is funding the development of the scheme, the burden will be switched to drone owners once it comes into play.
“This is the funding model used for its other aviation regulation functions, for example regulation of pilots, engineers, general aviation, airlines and airports,” the regulator says.
The CAA says that £16.50 fee was decided upon based on an assumption 170,000 UK drone owners will register in the first 18 months. Those interested in participating in the consultation period can do so online.
The CAA adds: “More information about the proposed charge, what we will do if the volumes of users are significantly different from those assumed and further background is available in the full consultation document.”
Do you think this is a fair price to register your drone and encourage responsible ownership? Or is this an unnecessary tax on a hobby that’ll discourage adoption? Be sure to Let us know @TrustedReviews on Twitter.
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
