Governments all over the world are still trying to figure out how to control the use of drones due to their rising popularity, and Kuwait is no different. Early this year I shared a proposal by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on limiting the use of drones in Kuwait. One of their proposals was to ban the use of drones over congested areas or private properties and it seems this is now officially a law. According to a new article on the MOI website, they state that it’s now against the law to fly drones over homes or other private properties which don’t belong to you. Violating this law will result in either a prison sentence of up to 3 years, a KD3,000 fine, or both.
Personally, I have mixed feelings against this law. I can certainly understand where they’re coming from, it would be fairly easy to spy on people using drones and I’m sure a lot of “voyuerists” are already doing this. But, I don’t really like the idea of banning everyone from flying drones because some people are misusing it. That would be like banning all telescopes because some people use it to spy on their neighbors. I would prefer they punish abusers severely and let everybody else continue to fly drones wherever they want. But since this is Kuwait and law enforcement isn’t that great, then it makes sense to just ban everyone since that would be easier option of the two to enforce.
The article on the MOI website is only available in Arabic and I haven’t been able to find an English version of it yet. The english articles on the MOI website haven’t been updated since May for some reason, so if you can’t read Arabic you’re going to have use Google Translate like I did. Here is the [Link]
Thanks Adly!
14 replies on “Flying Drones Over Homes Now Illegal”
Spying on people (ladies in particular) is very common and disgusting. My building had to install a roof over the pool because of the many drone incidents. Much more terrifying is the prospect of a collisions with an airplane. That’s bound to happen (unfortunately).
And now you know why we can’t have nice things :/
I didn’t realise it was this common, really. The thing is, unless the government will make it extremely easy for me to get a license (ترخيص), they are really doing more harm than good. Their lack of ability to enforce laws and their additional inability to make it easier for normal people to do their business is appalling.
I never had a drone, but customs once banned all drones due to the same privacy issue (maybe it still applies I don’t really know). The annoying thing, is that the vague law stated that(rough translation): “all remote controlled air vehicles will be prohibited from entering through customs.” — and I had ordered an rc plane (without a camera). It took me quite a while to actually convince everyone to release the shipment. The main factor being my ability to go to Dhajeej around 2KM away and purchase THE EXACT SAME PLANE from them. It is ridiculously stupid how certain things work here.
As for the collisions with aircraft — drones can only go up to around 1,700 ft. There are only a few places here in Kuwait where a plane would be that low; obviously only on approach and departure; on top of that, at this airport you would find aircraft that low over a populated area ONLY if there are southern winds (since planes land and takeoff into the wind) It is up to the drone pilot to get to know the rules and no-fly zones in the country. (https://248am.com/mark/information/drone-no-fly-zones-around-kuwait/) — So really, only areas to the north of the airport can be affected. According to what I see on google maps now those would be Jeleeb, Khaitan, Omairia, and Ardiya. There should be heavy enforcement with extreme consequences for flying into no fly zones, since most of the places, you are risking the lives of people.
There is a difference between drones and telescopes. Telescopes are geared to nature enthusiast, can’t subvert structures built to ensure privacy and as far as I am aware cannot record what is being seen through the lens. Drones on the other hand are all about getting to hard to reach places and recording stuff.
they both can be used to spy.
Sure, but I can’t use a telescope to peer through a wall or into someone’s inner courtyard and, again I’m not sure about recent developments, record what I see. With a drone I can maneuver over the wall, into the courtyard and if I’m feeling adventurous I can sneak into someone’s home and record whatever I wantl.
So again I feel the analogy between telescopes and drones doesn’t work all that well within the context of protecting individual privacy or privacy concerns.
you can’t use a drone to peer through a wall, it doesn’t have xray vision. but yeah i understand, the drone allows you to fly into back yards.
In any case I was just giving an example of how a telescope could be considered a tool for spying as well, even though that isn’t what its meant for in the same way how drones aren’t meant for spying but can be used to spy with.
I use my eyes when I spy.
Drones, but not Helicopters, you can fly that
Damn. I was looking to buy a Phantom 4 this weekend. Does anyone know where I can get one? AAB World and xcite show that they’re out of stock. I can’t wait for the Mavic Pro any longer!
There is a store in Dajeej dedicated to drones. https://www.instagram.com/falconrchobby/
here is a video of their store https://www.instagram.com/p/BK8Gyj7gPkx/
lots of drones
Wait for a few days till they get the DJI Mavic Pro in stock. It is better than the P4 (more obstacle avoidance), and can be folded so that it fits in the palm of your hand.
AAB world says they expect it in stores in 6-8 weeks. I’m travelling before that so I guess it isn’t feasible. Also, I was thinking, the Mavic Pro is so small it’s going to be really hard to spot when it’s up in the air which personally concerns me! The tap to focus system also bugs me. Low light performance is also a big one for me.
As far as obstacle avoidance goes, based on my research, the Phantom 4 is on par with the Mavic Pro, right (both have front facing cameras)?