Campus Health and Safety

Small Unmanned Aircraft

Small Unmanned Aircraft (SUA), more commonly known as “drone,” has gained popularity and found numerous applications all over the world. In Hong Kong, a new piece of legislation has been made to regulate the operation of SUAs. The Small Unmanned Aircraft Order, made under the Civil Aviation Ordinance, will come into operation in June 2022. SUAs will be classified into three categories (A1, A2 and B) according to their weight and operational risks.

Table 1: Categories and weight of small unmanned aircraft

Categories	Weight
A1	Does not exceed 250g
A2	Between 250g to 7kg
B	Between 7kg to 25kg

Depending on the weight categories, requirements may include registration and labeling of the aircraft, registration and training of the operators (pilots), operating requirements as well as mandatory insurance coverage. Drones weighing 250 grams or less, in general, are considered to be of limited risks and these will only be subject to basic operating requirements such as obeying the no- fly-zones, operating away from people, buildings and vehicles, altitude limits, day-time operation only, and maintaining a direct-line-of-sight.)

Additional guidelines can be found on the Civil Aviation Department’s website

In the HKUST, a permit system for drone operations has been in place since 2016. We will keep our permit requirements updated to align with the new legislation when details such as SUA registration, approved training, and insurance, etc., are available.

Image source: https://vprd.ust.hk/Highlight-and-Recognition/Highlights/Soaring-High#gallery-2