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What is the source of his statement of 20 August 2026 that certification for lower-risk routine drone operations "can take up to nine months and cost thousands of dollars", and what were the median and longest processing times, and the number of applications on hand, for Civil Aviation Rule Part 102 applications involving agricultural operations in each of the last three financial years?

Answered Question 40913 (2026)
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Asked by

Tangi Utikere

Member for Palmerston North · Labour Party

Question

  • What is the source of his statement of 20 August 2026 that certification for lower-risk routine drone operations "can take up to nine months and cost thousands of dollars", and what were the median and longest processing times, and the number of applications on hand, for Civil Aviation Rule Part 102 applications involving agricultural operations in each of the last three financial years?

Answered by

Hon James Meager

Member for Rangitata · National Party · Associate Minister of Transport

Answer

OC260481 Civil Aviation Rules: Policy options for better enabling agricultural spraying drone operations, Ministry of Transport, 30 June 2026. Median Processing Time (working days): FY23/34: 353 FY24/25: 229 FY25/26: 174 Longest Processing Time (working days): FY23/24: 672 FY24/25: 670 FY25/26: 920 Applications that involve agricultural operations cannot be reliably identified in the system until a draft Part 102 certificate has been created. As at 18 September 2026, there were 165 Part 102 certificate applications on hand in total.