Last week, we reported that people must now obtain permits from the Transportation Ministry to fly drones in Indonesia. We just weren’t aware how serious the punishment for breaking the new law is.
The Transport Ministry’s Regulation no. 90 of the year 2015 entitled “The operation of unmanned flying vehicles in Indonesian airspace”, states that the failure to register a flying drone is punishable by law.
However, the regulation only applies to those who wish to fly their drones higher than 150 meters off the ground.
“We have regulated that drones cannot fly over 150 meters [high] in uncontrolled airspace. If anyone wishes to fly a drone higher than 150 meters, then they need an official permit from the Air Transportation Directorate General,” said Muzaffar Ismail from the Directorate of Aircraft Operations and Suitability in the Transportation Ministry, as quoted by CNN Indonesia yesterday.
The application for the permit must be submitted 14 days before the scheduled flight at the very latest. The new regulation requires that flyers must obtain a permit for every flight, as opposed to just one license for each drone they own.
So what is exactly the punishment for violating the regulation?
“If all the regulations are violated, the offender will be jailed for 3 years and fined Rp 1 billion,” said Novie Riyanto Rahardjo, director of Flight Navigations at the Transportation Ministry.
This regulation has actually been in effect ever since it was passed on May 12.
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