Augusta-Richmond County, GA Drone Rules: Airport Proximity Rules (2026)

Augusta-Richmond County Code § 1-3-44, in Article 6 of the aviation chapter, adopts county-wide rules for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and model aircraft covering all of Richmond County, excluding the separately incorporated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe, which run their own codes. Subsection (d), "UAS flights near airports restricted," states that flights within five miles of an airport are highly restricted by FAA regulations and that anyone flying a UAS in Richmond County must comply with those federal rules. The county has two major fields in play, Daniel Field (Augusta Municipal Airport) and Augusta Regional Airport at Bush Field, both separately regulated under their own adopted operating rules (§§ 1-3-42, 1-3-43), so a five-mile buffer sweeps in a large share of the county's airspace.

The same section defines a Unmanned Aircraft System/Drone as any pilotless aircraft flown autonomously or by remote control, expressly including Model Aircraft (recreational drones under 55 pounds flown within visual line of sight per community-based safety guidelines). Enforcement folds the airport-proximity rule into the section's broader misdemeanor penalty rather than a separate fine schedule: any violation of § 1-3-44, including flying near an airport in disregard of FAA restrictions, is a misdemeanor. The county also reserves the right to physically impound a UAS operated in violation of the section, on top of the criminal penalty, and the ordinance carries a severability clause so a court striking one part leaves the rest standing. The rule was adopted by Ordinance No. 7481 (March 17, 2015) and amended by Ordinance No. 7531 (March 30, 2016).