China CAAC: Registered Drones Surpass 4.788 Million in First Half of 2026, Flight Hours Up 8%

CAAC Releases Mid-Year Drone and Aviation Data for 2026

China's Civil Aviation Administration (CAAC) convened its 2026 National Civil Aviation Mid-Year Work Conference via video teleconference in Beijing on July 15. CAAC Director-General Song Zhiyong presented a series of key performance figures for the first half of the year.

Overall Civil Aviation Operations

Song reported that China's civil aviation industry completed 83.37 billion tonne-kilometres of total transport turnover, carried 380 million passengers, and handled 5.073 million tonnes of cargo and mail in the first half of 2026 — representing year-on-year growth of 6.4%, 1%, and 6%, respectively. The industry logged 7.146 million flight hours and 2.683 million flight sorties. The rate of human-factor incidents per 10,000 flight hours fell 20.6% year-on-year. On-time performance reached 93.5%, while the jet bridge utilisation rate at airports handling over 10 million passengers annually stood at 87.5%.

Drone Real-Name Registrations Exceed 4.788 Million

In the drone sector, the total number of real-name registered unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) nationwide surpassed 4.788 million in the first half of 2026. Cumulative flight hours reached 26.414 million hours, marking an 8% year-on-year increase — indicating sustained and steady expansion of China's drone market.

Mandatory Real-Name Registration Standard Now in Effect

Notably, a mandatory national standard issued by the CAAC — Requirements for Real-Name Registration and Activation of Civil Unmanned Aircraft — came into force on May 1 this year. The standard defines the relationships, processes, technical requirements, and testing methods governing the states of "registration" and "activation" for civil unmanned aircraft systems, manufacturer systems, and real-name registration platforms.

Ministry of Public Security Drafts Penalty Guidelines for Violations

In June, China's Ministry of Public Security (MPS) released a draft document titled Administrative Penalty Discretionary Benchmarks for Public Security Authorities in Handling Illegal Acts Involving Unmanned Aircraft (Consultation Draft). Under Article 47, Paragraph 1 of the Interim Regulations on the Flight Management of Unmanned Aircraft, anyone who conducts flight activities without completing real-name registration may be ordered to rectify the violation and fined up to RMB 200. In serious cases, fines range from RMB 2,000 to RMB 20,000.

Dual-Track Regulatory Push

These successive policy measures signal that China is continuing to refine its drone real-name management framework. By advancing both technical standards and enforcement regulations in tandem, authorities are moving toward comprehensive oversight of all drone flight activities nationwide.

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