Propelling: Even with Varied Regulations, the Middle East is Transforming Drone Usage, with Charles Al Rachid of Microdrones

Daniel Litwin
Apr 2, 2019
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Charles Al Rachid Podcast Daniel Litwin Podcast Drones Middle East Promoted Content regulations rules technology

 

Drones are revolutionizing the way that many companies do business all over the world, and that’s not limited to just a few countries. Though everyone feels the impact, not every country handles the growth the same. The United States is under FAA regulation and Canada follows Transport Canada rules; what do the laws and regulations look like in countries within the Middle East, and how do they’re projects influence the market in unique ways?

On this episode ofOn this episode of Propelling, we sat down with Charles Al Rachid, Middle East regional sales manager for Microdrones. Our discussion covers regulations and how they’ve changed since 2009. Charles was actually part of the team that worked with different government agencies within the UAE and Saudi Arabia, to help develop some of the original guidelines and regulations in 2009. According to Al Rachid, the goal is always to enable companies “to be able to provide their services in a safe, secure, and legal way.”

We also review how they’ve modernized the certification process. The practice used to involve a complicated inspection process with a lengthy trail of paperwork. Now in 2019, the process is completely online, where all drones can be registered and the pilots are required to pass a license evaluation test. According to Al Rachid, “It’s a very easy, quite straightforward automated online process.”

Complicating drone use in the Middle East are the various rules and regulations governing flights throughout the area. The region hasn’t unified their drone regulation under one framework, meaning from city to city, drone pilots need to be aware of the different rules in effect. Al Rachid points to a need for educating pilots on the ever-changing and diverse set of regulations in the Middle East.

Listen to Al Rachid explain the most interesting use cases for drones in the Middle East, the best ways to get clients to find tangible benefits from implementing drones into their workflow, and some of the best prospects for growth of the drone market in the Middle East.

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