無人機“黑飛” (wúrénjī "hēifēi"): Black flights by drones

On Friday afternoon, 58 flights due to arrive at Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport had to divert to alternate airports and more than 10,000 passengers were delayed at the airport because of four drones. The Chengdu police have already filed cases against those flying the drones for endangering public safety and two men received administrative detention for five days.

This is not the first time that "black flights" by drones, illegal flights that do not have a permit from the civil aviation regulator, have endangered civil aviation order and security. Such black flights are known as "bombs in the air", as they pose a serious potential safety hazard to civil aviation.

The black flights at Shuangliu airport expose the loopholes in the supervision and management of drones. Many drone enthusiasts ignore the requirement that drone flights must be approved by the Civil Aviation Administration and fly their drones illegally.

It is hard to trace people illegally flying drones and hold them accountable, and even if the illegal flyers are caught the punishments are too light to deter others.

The authorities urgently need to strengthen the regulations on drones to make civil aviation safer.