DJI no longer wants to prevent drone flights in no-fly zones via software

The Chinese drone manufacturer DJI no longer wants to prevent its drones in the USA from flying over specific restricted areas such as airports, power plants, emergency zones and the White House. DJI announced this in a blog post on Monday. Drone pilots now only receive a warning and then have to decide for themselves whether they want to fly into the corresponding no-fly zones or not.

The corresponding software update for the Fly apps, including on DJI controllers, has been available for download since January 13. The update ensures that the previous DJI geofencing data sets are replaced by official data from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). At the same time, the areas previously marked as no-fly zones will be displayed as extended warning zones. They correspond to the zones designated accordingly by the FAA.

Geofencing no longer applies

Drone pilots who want to fly in these areas, whether intentionally or unintentionally, will only receive a warning. The pilot must then decide for themselves whether they want to fly the drone into a protected zone. DJI intends to put the “responsibility” back into the hands of the user. In this context, DJI points out that all drone pilots must comply with the locally applicable regulations on drone operation.

DJI introduced the geofencing system in some DJI drones in 2013 and subsequently made it standard. Since then, however, a lot has changed, such as the global regulations for drone operation and the awareness of drone pilots, writes DJI. In particular, the remote ID for identifying and locating larger drones would now enable local aviation authorities to better enforce existing regulations on designated no-fly zones. It is therefore no longer necessary to use software to prevent flying into these zones. Accordingly, DJI is removing the voluntary geofencing feature.

It is unclear whether DJI has also taken the restrictive actions of the US government by banning the import of some DJI drones as a reason for this, and therefore no longer wants to contribute to securing US airspace.

Other EU countries to follow

However, DJI is already taking the same approach in other countries, since January 2024 in parts of the EU such as the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, and Germany. Estonia, Finland, and Luxembourg were added in June 2024. In January 2025, all other EU countries in which the European Aviation Safety Authority (EASA) is responsible for air traffic control will follow. Here, too, the official geographical maps of the air traffic control authorities with restricted zones will be introduced in the DJI Fly apps, so that in future only warnings will be issued when drones are operated in and near defined restricted zones.

(olb)