MOSCOW, February 3. /TASS/. Officials in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District are working with the Russian aviation agency to open 80 areas for flying civilian drones in the first half of 2025, said Oleg Klochkov, head of the northern Russian region's Project Office.
"We are creating flight zones over the territories of municipalities. It is currently illegal to get a drone up in the air," he told reporters. "We and the Russian aviation agency are now looking at 80 flight zones between cities, in park areas, walking areas and school grounds, where it will be allowed to fly a drone at a height of up to 50 meters safely to shoot videos <...> without fear of fines."
According to the official, the 80 zones could be introduced as soon as the first half of 2025, and the number will expand in the future.
Klochkov said one reason Yamal is looking to ease rules for drones is that it wants to use them to deliver cargoes, as some areas don’t have enough roads and the climate is too harsh. Two landing sites for drones were set up in 2024.
"Starting this year, we will join forces with drone manufacturers and operators to develop logistics routes, see how cost-effective it is and how well it could compete with traditional means of delivery," he said.