The development of commercial unmanned aerial vehicles, more commonly known as drones, is gaining momentum in China. However, the application of drones in a variety of sectors also comes with “side effects.” On April 17-18, dozens of airplanes scheduled to fly to the Chinese city of Chengdu had to land at alternative airports after drones were sighted flying in the clearance protection zone.

Incidents caused by commercial and civilian drones have now become a global headache. In January 2015, a lost drone crashed on the White House lawn, triggering a stir when police, fire and other emergency vehicles swarmed around the White House in the pre-dawn hours.

Seth Kaplan, Managing Partner of Airline Weekly said, during an interview with CGTN, that the countermeasures the United States and other countries have carried out are a combination of regulation and education. Specifically, the government requires registration of drones with limitations set on the areas and altitudes drones are allowed to fly.  On top of that, the government is also engaged in cracking down on illegal flying of unregistered drones.

Chinese authorities are also in the process of regulating the development of commercial drones. In Beijing, for example, a no-fly zone is set in most parts of the city inside the Sixth Ring Road, including the three airports to prevent any “side effects” with the application of commercial drones in more diversified areas.

For any technological development, the way it is used makes all the difference. When cars first appeared, for example, some places stipulated that a man with a red flag had to walk in front of the vehicle to make it safe for pedestrians to use the roads. Eventually, of course, a set of rules was formulated and nowadays the rules of the road do a pretty good job of ensuring that car driving is – in the main – safe.

The same will be true of drones. People are testing their limits and common sense should tell us that they shouldn’t be used near airports, or near high security areas. So although some have called for a total ban on drones, it’s a somewhat lazy way of solving problems. Only by trial and error will we found out how to make the best use of new technologies.