Drones have flooded the Fiji market and people are slowly getting hooked on to these mini-robots.

But what many don’t know is the dangers that come with flying these cool gadgets and how a simple act of ignorance can lead to a catastrophe.

Flying it too low could cause damage to property or flying it too high could interfere with air traffic resulting in plane or helicopter crashes.

It sounds a bit dramatic for a small country such as Fiji but this could very well happen if caution and restraint isn’t practised now.

Just last year a horrific accident left a British toddler without an eye after a neighbour’s drone crashed on to the young child as reported by “The Verge”.

A television campaign by the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji to create awareness on the use of drones is in progress, and the response, according to CAAF, shows that more and more people are using drones.

“Since the launch of the campaign, we have received numerous calls from people wanting to know where to fly their drones and how high they should fly it,” said CAAF acting CEO Ajai Kumar.

“Although we have not received any reports to date of a breach of safety or injury, we believe it’s best we educate the public now on the dangers it poses, considering how easily accessible these drones are becoming to the public. You only have to walk down to the nearest shop in town to see the wide range of drones being sold.”

Mr Kumar said anyone flying those drones with lack of training and awareness, could cause accidents and in worst case scenarios, disasters.

“There’s no law right now to prevent these drones from being brought into the country so the best we can do now is educate the public on safety measures. We currently have a television campaign on and we have started putting posters up in retail shops that sell these drones in the Western Division and we have also begun visiting schools.”

For safety reasons, Mr Kumar is urging the public to contact the CAAF office if they’re considering buying a drone.

“We have a set of rules to ensure safety but the more simple ones are that it must not be flown within 5km of an airfield and it must not be flown above 200ft or 61m.”

There are also procedures in place for any company that wishes to use drones for commercial purposes.

CAAF is also calling on the public to contact their offices if they see anyone flying drones in places where it could be proven to be a hazard.