More than 45,000 drone owners registered with the Federal Aviation Administration in the two days after the registry opened to the public.
The FAA announced the number Wednesday in a notice that the registry would be going offline “in advance of an expected rush of customers on Christmas Day.” Around 400,000 unmanned aircraft could be purchased during the holidays, according to the FAA.
Drones over 0.55 pounds must be registered. Owners can do so by paying $5 and giving their name, email address and home address in return for an identification number to be displayed on every drone they own. More comprehensive drone regulations are expected to be put in place next year as the technology becomes more popular.
NBC News reports that the FAA has “received reports from a small number of users of performance issues” after an “overwhelming number of people have successfully registered” using the online registration site.
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