Airways New Zealand and Air New Zealand are demanding more stringent rules for drone operators after a very near miss on Sunday where a drone was seen just a few metres from an aircraft in flight.
Flight NZ92 from Tokyo was landing at Auckland International Airport when the pilot reported a drone just five metres from the Boeing 777-200.
Air New Zealand says drone incidents are on the rise and are pushing policymakers to toughen up on drone operators who fly the devices dangerously.
Current legislation sets a maximum fine of $5000 for those who fly a drone in restricted airspace, but both organisations say imprisonment should also be on the table.
Jorge Eduardo Riquelme Cruz has been charged with disregard for the safety of a transport facility. (Source: Other)
Airways New Zealand Chief of Strategy Trent Fulcher, speaking this morning to TVNZ 1's Breakfast, said the Civil Aviation Authority and Transport Ministry are currently looking at the issue, and said "stronger penalties are definitely on the cards".
"What we've seen over the last three years is that the growth of drone usage has been exponentially growing - we had 30 flights a week now we have about 600 flights a week - and keeping track of every drone user that's flying a drone at any one time is quite a challenge," Mr Fulcher said.
"With the growth of drone usage in the air this is going to be happening more and more."
Mr Fulcher said some of the difficulty in policing drone usage near aerodromes is detection, but specialised radars are currently being trialled at some New Zealand airports which are able to detect a much smaller drone in the air.
He said compulsory registration of all drones would be a good start for New Zealand, and that education and awareness of restricted airspaces is also key.
"The US are doing it at the moment - they charge $5 to register your drone and register as a pilot," Mr Fulcher said, "they've had 850-odd-thousands registrations so far, so they've captured quite a chunk of the drone community - and it hasn't really stunted the growth of that industry over there."
Mr Fulcher said all drone operators must be familiar with the Airshare website , which has all the information needed for pilots including where they must not fly.
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