SXSW bans drones from this year’s festivities
posted Thursday, March 12, 2015 at 12:40 AM EST
South by Southwest (SXSW) has officially put the kibosh on drones during this year’s festivities. Announced via blog post yesterday, the Austin-based film and music festival cited safety and legal concerns for their prohibition.
On the safety front, the announcement notes ‘the airwaves and/or frequency spectrums generally used in the remote control of drones are too congested during the SXSW event to ensure operation safe from interference.’
Local legality of drones is another concern for the festival. Specifically, the blog post cites City of Austin Ordinance chapter 13-1, which limits how many times a helicopter/drone can take off and land from a designated area -- even with proper insurance and licensing. SXSW further informs attendants that Austin Police Department will be on-location and reserve the right to seize drones and hand out appropriate ‘fines and/or arrest’ if operated unlawfully.
But not all hope is lost for those wanting to play with drones throughout the festivities. SXSW notes exceptions may be made for drones tethered to secure areas in demonstration areas.
(via Daily Dot)
Image credits: Teste DRONE by Fisl Quinze used under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 2.0