Chinese Drone Firm DJI Eliminates Automatic No-Fly Zones One Week Before Trump's Inauguration

DJI, the world's largest civilian drone manufacturer and a Chinese-owned company, has reportedly announced it will replace its geofencing system with official Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data for all flight operations in the US. The changes, which took effect on Monday, come just one week before President Trump's inauguration in Washington, D.C, as well as concerns about drones across US cities and hovering near US military installations.

The official DJI blog, "ViewPoints," provided more color on the geofencing policy change, which will now allow drone operators to fly in previously restricted 'No-Fly Zones': 

With this update, DJI's Fly and Pilot flight app operators will see prior DJI geofencing datasets replaced to display official Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data. Areas previously defined as Restricted Zones (also known as No-Fly Zones) will be displayed as Enhanced Warning Zones, aligning with the FAA's designated areas. In these zones, in-app alerts will notify operators flying near FAA designated controlled airspace, placing control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility.

Another drone blog has reported the policy change...

X users responded with suspicion to the new policy and its potential implications for high-value US government assets, such as military bases, airports, infrastructure, and even highly restricted airspace in major metro areas.

Others were questioning the timing of the policy update by DJI. Just one week before... 

The timing of this policy change is alarming.