Reprinted from EASA website
Unmanned aircraft (some people call them civil ‘drones’) are increasingly being used in Europe, but under a fragmented regulatory framework. Basic national safety rules apply, but the rules differ across the EU and a number of key safeguards are not addressed in a coherent way. Under the term 'unmanned aircraft' are included very large aircraft which resemble in size and complexity manned aircraft to very small consumer electronics aircraft.
Latest development: EASA Technical Opinion on drones
On 18 December 2015 we published our formal Technical Opinion on the operation of drones. This opinion lays down the foundation for all future work for the development of rules, guidance material, as wells as, safety promotion to ensure unmanned aircraft are operated safely and their impact on the safety of the aviation system is minimized. The opinion includes 27 concrete proposals for a regulatory framework for low risk operations of all unmanned aircraft irrespective of their mass. The proposals are operations centric, focusing on how the drones will be used rather than their physical characteristics. It establishes 3 categories of operation: ‘Open’, ‘Specific’ and ‘Certified’ with different safety requirements for each, proportionate to the risk. EASA's Technical Opinion mentions the use of new rules in combination with safety promotion material to achieve a proportionate, safe environment.
Next steps
In 2016 and 2017, new rules will be developed, or existing ones will be amended, within the framework described in the Technical Opinion. Also, guidance material, including safety promotion, will become available. All relevant work will be made available on this part of the EASA website.
Historical background
As a background, the European Commission has proposed to set new standards to regulate the operations of 'unmanned aircraft. The new standards will cover safety, security, privacy, data protection, insurance and liability. The aim is to allow European industry to become a global leader in the market for this emerging technology, while at the same time ensuring that all the necessary safeguards are in place.
On 31 July 2015 EASA launched a consultation process on a new regulatory framework for drones. This document (A-NPA) presented the new regulatory approach for safely operating remotely piloted aircraft. This flexible approach, (based on the ‘Concept of Operations’), provides a set of rules which are proportionate and risk based. In other words, safety requirements are in relation to the risk an activity poses to the operator and to third parties (e.g. general public). The greater the risk the higher the requirements. This is done in order to ensure there is no compromise in safety, but there is a flexible environment for this promising industry to grow. In order to assist in better understanding the A-NPA and to encourage participation in the consultative process a Summary of the A-NPA, was developed. The consultation process ended in September 2015. The outcome of the consultation process is the Technical Opinion described above.
