Northland pilots are railing over what they say amounts to an attempt to privatise airspace for a company's profit.
About 30 pilots attended a consultation meeting in Kerikeri earlier this month relating to a request by Incredible Skies Ltd to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) for a restricted airspace over Hokianga.
If the request is granted, the drone research company will be able to close 874sq km of airspace to other users when drones are being tested beyond the operator's line of sight.
Chief executive Robyn Kamira has previously said the Hokianga would make an ideal drone testing range because it was secluded from curious competitors and was large and uncongested, with ''enough diverse terrain to provide a challenging environment for those wishing to push the boundaries of drones travelling beyond line of sight''.
Applications the company is investigating include delivery of medication to people in remote areas or places which are regularly cut off by flooding.
However, the proposal has gone down like a lead balloon with Northland pilots.