For more than a decade, you couldn’t easily fly a DJI drone over restricted areas in the United States. DJI’s software will automatically stop you from flying over runways, power plants, public emergencies like wildfires, and the White House.
But confusingly, amid the biggest mistrust in the US in years, and an incident of a DJI drone operator impeding firefighting efforts in LA, DJI is getting rid of its strong geofencing. DJI will no longer enforce No-Fly Zones, instead offering only an unacceptable warning – meaning only common sense, sensitivity and fear of being caught by the authorities will stop people fly where they shouldn’t.
In a blog post, DJI characterizes this as “putting control back in the hands of drone operators.” DJI suggests that technologies such as Remote ID, which publicly broadcasts the location of a drone and its operator in flight, are “providing authorities with the necessary tools to enforce existing regulations,” says DJI’s head of global policy, Adam Welsh. Threshold.
But it turns out the DJI drone that damaged a Super Scooper plane fighting the Los Angeles fires was a sub-250-gram model that may not require Remote ID to operate, and the FBI expects it to “work backwards through investigative tools.” to find out who flew it there.
DJI voluntarily created its geofencing feature, so it makes some sense that the company would get rid of it now that the US government no longer seems to appreciate its help, blocking some of its drone imports, DJI calls a ” Chinese military Company”, and has started the countdown to the de facto import ban.
“The FAA does not require geofencing from drone manufacturers,” confirms FAA spokesman Ian Gregor. Threshold.
But DJI’s former head of global policy, Brendan Schulman, doesn’t seem to think this is a move for the better. Here are a few select phrases he posted on X:
This is a remarkable change in drone safety strategy with a potentially huge impact, especially among drone pilots who are less aware of airspace restrictions and high-risk areas.
There was substantial evidence over the years that automated drone geofencing, implemented using a risk-based approach, contributed significantly to aviation safety.
Interesting timing: Almost ten years to the day after a DJI drone infamously crashed onto the White House lawn, DJI has removed the built-in geofencing feature that automatically prevents such an incident, replacing it with warnings that the user can choose to ignore them.
Here are the questions we sent to DJI and the company’s responses:
1) Can you confirm that DJI no longer prevents its drones from taking off/flying anywhere in the United States, including but not limited to military installations, over public emergency areas like wildfires, and critical government buildings like the House white?
Yes, this GEO update applies to all US locations and complies with FAA Remote ID targets. With this update, the previous DJI geofencing data sets have been replaced to display official FAA data. Areas previously designated as Restricted Areas (also known as No-Fly Areas) will be displayed as Enhanced Warning Areas, consistent with FAA designated areas.
2) If it still prevents drones from taking off / flying in some places, what are those places?
3) Did DJI make this decision in consultation with or at the direction of the US government or any designated government body, agency or representative? If so, which one? If not, why not?
This GEO update conforms to the principle advanced by aviation regulators around the globe – including the FAA – that the operator is responsible for compliance.
4) Did DJI conduct any risk analysis studies beforehand and if so, did it see potential for abuse? What possibilities did he see? If not, why not?
The geofencing system that was previously in place was a voluntary safety measure introduced by DJI over 10 years ago, when mass-produced small drones were a new entry into the airspace and regulators needed time to establish rules for their safe use.
Since then, the FAA has introduced remote ID requirements, meaning drones flying in the US must transmit the equivalent of a drone “license plate.” This requirement came into effect at the beginning of 2024, providing authorities with the necessary tools to enforce existing rules.
“This update has been in development for some time, following similar changes successfully implemented in the EU last year, which showed no evidence of increased risk,” says Welsh. However, last year’s changes reportedly maintained the mandatory no-fly zones around UK airports.
Here in the United States, Welsh seems to suggest that his apps won’t go that far. “To be clear: DJI flight apps will continue to voluntarily generate warnings if pilots attempt to fly in restricted airspace as defined by the FAA, provided pilots keep their flight apps updated,” he says . threshold.
