Report: Stricter enforcement of drone registration, permission to fly by Q3 2025, says civil aviation chief
KUALA LUMPUR, June 3 — Commercial and recreational drone owners will have to register their drones with the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia’s (CAAM) Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management (UAS TM), English daily New Straits Times reported today.
The system will be set up by the third quarter of 2025 that will mandate a drone to be registered and permission to be granted before taking off, CAAM chief executive officer Captain Datuk Norazman Mahmud told the daily.
“By then, when you buy a drone, you will have to register before flying it.
“Drone operators will need to request permission via a mobile app before flying their drones.
“If the drone meets all requirements and is in an unrestricted area, approval will be granted instantly,” he reportedly said.
Currently, the air traffic management system covers civil aviation, regular aircraft and drones.
The UAS TM aims to streamline the management of drones in the nation’s airspace as the number of drone owners rises.
“Imagine the infrastructure needed to oversee 155,995 drone owners,” Norazman said, quoting data from the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (Sirim).
“Even now, registration is required, but compliance is low due to the high number of drones.”
The new system will regulate the drone’s freedom of movement, preventing it from trespassing designated areas for air traffic and restricted airspace through a four-stage process U1, U2, U3 and U4.
“In U1, when you buy a drone, you register it with your name in the system. U2 will address the flight approval process. U3 are advanced services supporting more complex operations in dense areas, such as assistance for conflict detection and automated detect-and-avoid functionality,” he said.
U4 involves integration with manned aviation and supports high levels of autonomy and connectivity.
“The operation of the UAS TM will involve multiple agencies, including the Chief Government Security Office, the Survey and Mapping Department and Sirim.
“However, for more complex commercial operations, such as pipeline monitoring or agricultural tasks, additional oversight and certification will be required,” Norazman was quoted as saying.
He also disclosed that around 80 per cent of drones were used recreationally, and the rest were for surveillance and transport.
Under the new system, failure to register will result in a fine of up to RM50,000, or jailed for up to three years, or both. But corporations may be liable to a maximum fine of RM100,000.
