In China, the term "black flights" refers to unauthorized operations of drones, flying cars and other aircraft. This includes unregistered devices, as well as registered ones flown without approval or beyond permitted zones. Chinese law stipulates clear penalties for such violations, ranging from warnings and fines to criminal liability in serious cases.

Despite these regulations, black flights have grown increasingly common in recent years. From late August through November 2025, Shanghai police launched a special enforcement campaign targeting unregistered flights and illegal modification of drone safety systems. Within three months, they investigated 2,526 black flight cases and penalized 2,491 individuals.

Most illegal drone operators are not acting with harmful intent. Instead, they are typically photography enthusiasts or businesses unaware they are breaking the law. Authorities point to several reasons for the high number of violations: easy access to drones, gaps in public awareness of drone regulations, limited monitoring outside major no-fly zones, and a common misjudgment of how serious the risks and penalties can be.

With the rapid development of China's unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) industry and the gradual opening up of the low-altitude (below 1,000 meters) airspace, commercial drones have been widely used in agriculture, logistics, research and other fields, playing an important role in promoting economic and social development.

Yet illegal drone flights remain frequent and dangerous. They disrupt air traffic, cause injuries from crashes and enable unauthorized surveillance. Some drones have even been found flying above 800 meters, instead of China's limit of 120 meters above ground level for recreational and commercial drones, endangering both aircraft and the public. These risks cannot be overlooked.

The growing application of drones and other low-altitude technologies reflects broader technological progress. However, their low cost and user-friendly design have also made unauthorized and non-compliant operations more common. This is not only an issue in China, but a challenge faced by many countries.

In response, some nations have adopted cloud-based drone management systems and remote identification requirements. China's current regulatory strategy is built around four pillars: technical controls, including mandatory real-name registration, built-in geofencing for no-fly zones and remote identification and tracking systems; legal education, requiring purchasers to pass tests on drone regulations and publicizing case studies to raise public awareness; risk-based management that classifies drones by weight and purpose and simplifies compliance procedures to reduce administrative burdens; and enforcement and penalties, increasing fines for violations and pursuing criminal liability in cases that cause actual harm.

Ultimately, drones are tools, and their safety depends largely on user responsibility and regulatory effectiveness. While safeguarding airspace, China preserves room for legal, innovation-friendly uses and avoids a one-size-fits-all approach that could stifle technological development.

The newly revised Law on Penalties for Administration of Public Security, effective on January 1, explicitly lists, for the first time, unauthorized drone flights as an act endangering public security subject to penalties. Two mandatory national standards issued by the State Administration for Market Regulation, namely, real-name registration and activation requirements for civil UAVs, and specification for civil UAV system operational identification, will come into effect on May 1, with the core objective of realizing full-life supervision of drones—from activation and use to de-registration.

The ultimate goal of addressing black flights is not to curb technology innovation, but to establish a new order that can both ensure aviation safety and promote sound development of the industry, and to build a governance system adaptive to the era of the low-altitude economy. Black flights should not be seen as a mere governance challenge between technology development and aviation safety, but rather as an opportunity to advance coordination of technology innovation and supervision, as well as a force driving the modernization of aviation administration.

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon 

Comments to lanxinzhen@cicgamericas.com