All flights of drones and light sports aircraft by owners, practitioners and enthusiasts are being stopped immediately, the Ministry of Interior said on Saturday.
The ban was put in place in co-ordination with the General Authority for Civil Aviation.
The decision was made after recent cases in which flyers have broken the rules that limit the sports to specific areas identified in the user permits by trespassing into areas in which such activities are prohibited.
The ministry asked the public and the community to respect the directives it issued jointly with the General Authority for Civil Aviation to ensure the safety of lives and property.
All air activities will be suspended as of Saturday, January 22, 2022.
Organisations with work contracts, or commercial or advertising projects, that rely on filming using drones must communicate with the permit authorities to take the necessary exceptions and permits to carry out their work and projects during this period to avoid any consequences that affect the timing of these projects.
MoI reminded users that anyone performing these activities during that period and disregarding the rules will be subject to legal liabilities.
World's biggest drones: in pictures
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American sailors move a US Navy X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator on to an elevator aboard the aircraft carrier ‘USS George H.W. Bush’ in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was the first to successfully catapult-launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. Photo: US Navy -
An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft like the one shown is currently flying non-military mapping missions over South America, Central America and the Caribbean at the request of partner nations in the region. Photo: US Air Force / Bobbi Zapka -
A still image, taken from a video footage released by Russia's Defence Ministry, shows a Russian Altius-U military long-range unmanned aerial vehicle during a test flight at an unknown location. Photo: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation / Handout via Reuters -
The first joint flight of a Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik heavy unmanned combat aerial vehicle and a Sukhoi Su-57 jet fighter. As part of a testing programme, Okhotnik has performed a fully unmanned flight into an airborne alert area. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry / Tass -
A screengrab of an S-70 unmanned combat air vehicle. -
The Lockheed Martin SR-72, sometimes called Son of Blackbird, is a US hypersonic UAV drone intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Photo: Lockheed Martin -
A team of 12th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Airmen walk beside an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone. EPA -
An X-47B pilot-less drone is launched for the first time off an aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia.
