DJI pilots in the US no longer have to wait for the company to unlock their drone to fly into restricted airspace. But, after DJI announced that it was drastically changing its geofencing to warn, rather than outright prevent, pilots from flying into restricted airspace, the internet immediately jumped to the conclusion that the update was tied to the current political tension between the US and the China-based DJI. DJI, however, says that the update isn’t about politics.
The update, available when updating the DJI Fly app in the US, alters the geofencing tool that would physically prevent a drone from entering protected airspace. DJI’s geofencing tools aren’t completely going away. Instead, pilots will receive in-app warnings that will warn pilots when flying near protected airspace. The terminology also changes from Restricted Zones to Enhanced Warning Zones and uses official FAA data rather than the previous international standards, a decision the company made to avoid confusion. The change effectively gives pilots information about restricted airspace but leaves them in control of where to fly – and local authorities in control of enforcing drone regulations.
