www.iaset.us editor@iaset.us ARE DRONES A THREAT TO CIVIL AVIATION? A RETROSPECTIVE ON POLICIES OF DRONES IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES SARATH RAJ N.S 1 , JERRIN VARGHESE 2 , GEETANJALI R CHANDRA 3 & JAVED IQBAL 4 1,2 Faculty, Department of Aerospace Engineering, Amity University, Dubai Campus, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 3 Faculty, Department of Laws, Amity University, Dubai Campus, Dubai, United Arab Emirates 4 University of Science & Technology, Beijing, China ABSTRACT In this modern era, the influence of technology is more crucial and critical. The technology provides luxury to the society and at the same time technology’s negative effect also affects the society adversely. All the aspects of drone technology are challenged: its innovation, validity, ethics, effectiveness, and future expansion. The capacity is to stay for the long haul, and we should deal with the difficulties it conveys and we have to exploit its military and civil applications. This paper reviews a retrospective on the United Arab Emirates aviation policy on drones. It also examines aviation safety; aviation security; identifies emerging issues in drone’s technology; mitigating the negative side of drones and the strategic effects of a lethal drone policy of United Arab Emirates. KEYWORDS: Drones, Drone Policy, Drone Law, UAE Civil Aviation, Dubai Airport, FAA, GCAA INTRODUCTION Dubai Airports have confirmed that air space around Dubai International (DXB) was closed for 69 minutes since 11:36-12:45 Local Time today due to unauthorized drone activity resulting in a number of delays and flight diversions. 1 This is the second time such an incident has reported within a span of less than two years in Dubai 2 . Across the globe, the airlines expressed concern over drone activities. Safety reports from a number of civil aviation and safety authorities in the world have revealed a significant number of near-collisions. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) are a new component of the aviation system, which would depend upon critical developments in aerospace technologies, providing improvements which may exposednovel and upgraded commercial applications along with advances to the safety and effectiveness of all civil aviation 3 . According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), “an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), sometimes called a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot onboard – instead, the UAS is controlled from an operator on the ground” 4 .As per the International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) Global Air Traffic Management (ATM) operationa l concept (Doc9854) state that “[a]n unmanned aerial vehicle is a pilotless aircraft, in the sense of Article 8 of the Convention on International Civil Aviation, which is flown without a pilot-in-command on-board and is either remotely and fully controlled from another place (ground, another aircraft, space) or programmed and fully autonomous.” 5 1 Dubai Airports. 2016. 2 Arabian Business. 2016. 3 ICAO Circular 328-AN/190 4 U.S. Department of Transportation 5 "Hernandez, Victor", ICAO, 2015. International Journal of General Engineering and Technology (IJGET) ISSN(P): 2278-9928; ISSN(E): 2278-9936 Vol. 6, Issue 4, Jun - Jul 2017; 7-28 © IASET