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You Can No Longer Fly Or Purchase a Drone In Beijing (petapixel.com) 55

Posted by BeauHD from the cease-and-desist dept.
Longtime Slashdot reader schwit1 shares a report from PetaPixel: China dominates the consumer drone market, so it is perhaps surprising that it is no longer possible to fly or even purchase a drone in Beijing. The new law that passed last month makes it illegal to buy, rent, or fly a drone without prior approval from the authorities. Users must also complete an online training session and pass a test on drone regulations. Under the new rules, drone users are also not allowed to repair or replace their drones in Beijing. Not only that, but a drone in a repair shop must be picked up in-person, rather than sent back by delivery.

The BBC reports that drones must now be registered before being brought into and out of the Chinese capital. "I have to apply for permission for each flight, which is very inconvenient," drone enthusiast Steven Wang tells CNN. "And starting this year, the wait time is getting longer, and the reasons for rejection are becoming more vague." Despite China being the birthplace of the consumer drone industry, it is increasingly difficult for hobbyists to fly there. Beijing authorities say that the rules are made to "strengthen the management of unmanned aerial vehicles" and "safeguard the security of the capital."

You Can No Longer Fly Or Purchase a Drone In Beijing More | Reply

You Can No Longer Fly Or Purchase a Drone In Beijing

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  • I'm not keen on flying cameras in my personal airspace either. Guess they'll be more room for the state's eyes in the sky. Doh!

  • Dictators (Score:5, Insightful)

    by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Thursday June 18, 2026 @11:09AM (#66198556) Journal
    Dictators are always afraid of their population.

    And for good reasons.

    • Care to read the restrictions for flying drones in DC?

    • The people are the dictator.

    • Re:Dictators (Score:4, Informative)

      by hey! ( 33014 ) on Thursday June 18, 2026 @12:30PM (#66198736) Homepage Journal

      The restrictions are a mix of reasonable nuisance management and paranoia about who is flying drones, what they can do, and chain of custody.

      Beijing proper is a city with a population density of over 21,000 / km^2 -- so you can imagine the chaos if any tech enthusiast resident could fly a drone without a permit. Except for a couple of free zones in the outer boroughs, New York City restricts drone launcing and landings within the city to flights with a permit and flight plan, because otherwise the sky would be black with drones. Many cities -- both red and blue -- have zone restrictions for drone flights, and those currently hosting World Cup matches have tightened them for the duration of the tournament.

  • Clickbait (Score:2, Insightful)

    by ArchieBunker ( 132337 )

    Drones now require training and a permit. Sounds accurate for a densely populated city. Next talk about motor vehicles.

    • Next talk about motor vehicles.

      Sure. Let's require a permit every time someone will drive. That'll make streets a lot safer and will protect our children.

      • Don't give them ideas.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Tyr07 ( 8900565 )

        It's absurd right? Can you imagine if aircraft required trained people to fly them, filing flight plans and permission for every flight to launch? Yeah sure it would make the air space safer to prevent them crashing into each other and people on the ground but man.

        • Helicopters require training, but don't require flight plans and permits for every flight.
          Drones are much more comparable to them than to fixed wing aircraft.
          I can agree with requiring training and permission/registration to fly a drone, at least the big ones, which can cause serious accidents.
          But permits for every single flight is stupid.

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by cusco ( 717999 )

            With over 15,000 residents per square kilometer in the center of the city you wouldn't want ANY drones overhead where if they lose power, lose contact with the controller, hit something, etc. there's a high likelihood of personal injury. Now with the introduction of robot air taxis into he mix there would be even higher risk. In that sort of situation requiring permits and flight plans makes absolute sense.

    • Yeah, your point is perfectly reasonable. Who wants to walk in a city park with drone-freaks flying toyz up your  *zzwhole. 
  • You can refit every drone to make it a weapon, and there's nothing what CCP fears more - besides old age.

  • It is the law in most countries that you can not operate a drone without proving you have the skills: aka having a license. /FACEPLAM

  • Requiring a drone license is reasonable; it's required here in Canada for any drone over 250 grams. You have to learn the regulations and pass a test to get your license.

    But I don't see how forbidding buying or repairing drones in a specific city makes sense.

  • There are plenty of cities in western countries where drones are entirely prohibited and you need to drive to the countryside to fly it, observing various nature reserves and restricted airspaces.

    It is also very common that training, a test or license, insurance, etc. are required.

    The odd thing is that buying is restricted. Does that include ordering online?

  • This measure is likely intended to eliminate the dangers and annoyances caused by inconsiderate self-centered fucks that fly drones in inappropriate places and generally piss everyone off. The main character crowd is notorious for this, but Chinese take it to a whole new level in the annoying department.

    I'll just fly my drone out of my 30th story window. So what if I rain batteries and gear onto the heads of those below.

    Everybody loves when I fly my drone around the Summer Palace.

  • What next, is Beijing going to be renamed to City 17?

    Don't drink the water. They put something in it to make you forget.

  • So first, the airspace controls aren't that unique. In the United States for example, you cannot fly a drone without FAA authorization within 15 miles of Reagan National Airport [faa.gov] which covers the White House, Capitol Hill, the Pentagon, and most other Federal Buildings in the region. This is reasonable given its the nation's capital with obvious national security implications.

    The ban also fits into China's airspace philosophy: China is unique in that airspace is by default owned by the military with corrido

  • Not sure if this is related but I've found that the nice fixed-wing UAVs from Hobby King have been showing "out of stock" on hobbyking.com for months now. I assumed it was because production output was being redirected to certain conflict zones, but this new rule might have something to do with it too.

    I wouldn't be surprised to see more regulation in future around UAVs/drones greater than a certain mass. Any kids' RC aircraft becomes a guided missile pretty easily. I'm not saying regulation is the "right" p

  • Hundred Metre Economy (Score:3)

    by EreIamJH ( 180023 ) on Friday June 19, 2026 @01:19AM (#66199848)

    I'm guessing this isn't just random bureaucracy, rather it's part of their five year plan for a low-altitude economy. Basically a plan to create a regulated airspace in which drones / flying cars / whatevers etc can operate in the knowledge that the rules are already mostly known.

    China's attempt to get out in front of another area of significant economic growth.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by cusco ( 717999 )

      Mos sensible post I've seen in this thread. Are you sure you're on the right web site? :-)

  • You can't fly a drone there either without permits per flight you might not be able to get.
  • All the airspace are owned by commercial airlines--the rest is saved for commercial interests.

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