Unmanned Aircraft Systems – Drones

Are all remote pilots in the 'specific' category required to train to fly a drone?

For operation falling under the ‘specific’ category, the training depends on the
operation you intend to conduct. So unless the operation falls into a standard
scenario, after the risk assessment, you will need to propose a possible training
course to the National Aviation Authority. The authority will, in each case, evaluate
the adequacy of the training, and if they confirm it in the operational authorisation,
the training will become the required training.
If your operation falls into a standard scenario, the remote pilot must:

  • hold a certificate of remote pilot theoretical knowledge for operation under standard scenarios;
  • hold an accreditation of completion of the STS-01 practical skill training.

To do so, the remote pilot must complete and successfully pass an online training
course.
Both the certificate and accreditation can be issued by a competent authority or an
entity chosen to do so.

Regulatory reference: UAS.SPEC.050 (d) and UAS.SPEC.060 (b) of EU Regulation
2019/947

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

I am a Non-EU resident visiting Europe and I plan to fly my drone in the 'open' category, do I need to register?

All drone operations conducted in the EASA Member States must comply with the
Drone Regulation, no matter what the nationality of the operator or remote pilot is.
Therefore, as a non-EU resident, you are also required to register with the National
Aviation Authority of the first EU country where you intend to operate.
You will then be issued with a ‘drone operator registration number’ that needs
to be displayed with a sticker on all the drones you own. You must also
upload it into the ‘remote identification system’ of your drone(s).
Once registered in the host country, the drone operator’s registration will be valid
across Europe and the operator will be required to follow all the provisions of the
Drone Regulation.
If you intend to operate in the ’specific’ category, you must submit a declaration for
a standard scenario or apply for an operational authorisation to the National
Aviation Authority of the EU Member State(s) where you registered.
If you want to conduct operations in a Member State different from the one in which
you registered, you need to follow the same procedure as all other national citizens
of the Member State where you registered. Refer to question ‘I plan to provide
services (commercial and other) with drone(s)‘.

Regulatory reference: Art.41 (1) and (2) of EU regulation 2019/945.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

I am a Non-EU resident visiting Europe and I plan to fly my drone in the 'open' category, do I need to register?

All drone operations conducted in the EASA Member States must comply with the
Drone Regulation, no matter what the nationality of the operator or remote pilot is.
Therefore, as a non-EU resident, you are also required to register with the National
Aviation Authority of the first EU country where you intend to operate.
You will then be issued with a ‘drone operator registration number’ that needs
to be displayed with a sticker on all the drones you own. You must also
upload it into the ‘remote identification system’ of your drone(s).
Once registered in the host country, the drone operator’s registration will be valid
across Europe and the operator will be required to follow all the provisions of the
Drone Regulation.
If you intend to operate in the ’specific’ category, you must submit a declaration for
a standard scenario or apply for an operational authorisation to the National
Aviation Authority of the EU Member State(s) where you registered.
If you want to conduct operations in a Member State different from the one in which
you registered, you need to follow the same procedure as all other national citizens
of the Member State where you registered. Refer to question ‘I plan to provide
services (commercial and other) with drone(s)‘.

Regulatory reference: Art.41 (1) and (2) of EU regulation 2019/945.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

I build my own drones Does my drone fall under the 'open' category?

Yes, privately built drones can be used, and depending on their weight, operated in
the ’open’ category or the ’specific’ category. You, as the drone operator, need to
fulfil all the requirements of the Regulation, and in the ’open’ category, you can
only operate under subcategory:

  • A1 when the drone’s maximum take-off weight (MTOM) including its payload is less than 250 g and the maximum speed is less than 19 m/s; or in
  • A3 when the drone’s MTOM including its payload is less than 25 kg.

Regulatory reference: UAS.OPEN.020 (5) (a) and UASOPEAN.040 (4)(a) Annex part A of EU regulation 2019/947.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

I fall under the 'open' category will I be able to fly my old drone after 31 December 2020 ?

Yes, from 31 December 2020 to 1 January 2024, you may fly your drone without
class Identification label in the ’open’ category under the following conditions:

  • drones with less than 500 g MTOM cannot fly over people, and pilot competency is determined by your National Aviation Authority;
  • drones with less than 2 kg MTOM can fly 50 metres or more (horizontally) from people and the pilot must undergo training equivalent to subcategory A2 (see the FAQ section on training);
  • drones with less than 25 kg MTOM, can fly in areas free from people, 150 metres or more away from properties, and the pilot must undergo training equivalent to subcategory A3 (see the FAQ section on training).

After 1 January 2024, you can still fly your drone without class identification labels,
however, only under the following subcategories of operation, for which you have to
fully comply with:

  • Subcategory A1 when the drone’s maximum take-off weight (MTOM) is less than 250 g; or
  • Subcategory A3 when the drone’s maximum take-off weight is less than 25 kg.

You will not need to apply any retrofit/sticker to the drone in subcategories A1 or A3.

Regulatory reference: Article 20 and Annex part A of EU regulation 2019/947 and EU regulation 2019/945.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

I fall under the ‘specific’ category, so how do I obtain an authorisation?

Firstly check whether your operation can be accommodated within a standard
scenario. If it can, you do not need an authorisation, but you do need to submit a
declaration to the National Aviation Authority. A standard scenario is an operation
defined in the Appendix to the drone regulation (EU Regulation 2019/947). You need
to use a drone marked with the appropriate class identification label (5 or 6). After
submitting the declaration to the National Aviation Authority, you will receive the
confirmation of receipt and completeness from the National Aviation Authority and
operate following the limitations of the standard scenario.
Otherwise, there are other means to obtain an operational authorisation under the
‘specific’ category, depending on the level of risk the operation poses. The drone
operator can apply for:

1. An operational authorisation by conducting a risk assessment of the
intended operation using a methodology for the risk assessment; one
possible method is the SORA (specific operation risk assessment) that you can find as AMC1 to Article 11 to Regulation (EU) 2019/947. This methodology helps
to identify the risk level of the operation and to identify the mitigations and
operational safety objectives needed to make the operation safe. When the
drone operator believes they have put in place satisfactory measures to ensure
the safety of the operation, they send all the information to the National
Aviation Authority and apply for an operational authorisation. When the
National Aviation Authority is satisfied, it provides the drone operator with the
authorisation, and the operation can be started.

2. An operation authorisation through a predefined risk assessment’
(PDRA) as a simplification of the drone operator conducting a risk assessment.
For those operations that will be the most common in Europe, EASA will carry
out the risk assessment and will publish, as an acceptable means of compliance
with the drone regulation, the list of the actions that the drone operator needs
to put in place in order to conduct the operation safely. An application for an
authorisation to the National Aviation Authority is still needed, however, both
the drone operator and the National Aviation Authority will benefit from the
standardised measures defined in the PDRA. The PDRAs are published by EASA
as AMC to Art 11 to Regulation (EU) 2019/947; more are already under
development.

3. Light UAS operator certificate (LUC): this is a voluntary certification, after
which the National Aviation Authority may allocate some privileges to the drone
operator.
Drone operators may ask the National Aviation Authority to assess their
organisation to evaluate whether they are capable of assessing the risk of an
operation themselves. The requirements to be demonstrated by drone
operators are defined in Part C of Regulation (EU) 2019/947. When the National
Aviation Authority is satisfied, they will issue a light UAS operator certificate
(LUC) and they will allocate privileges to the drone operators based on their
level of maturity. The privileges may be one or more of the following:

  • To conduct operations covered by standard scenarios without submitting a declaration;
  • To self-authorise operations conducted by the drone operator and covered by a PDRA without applying for an authorisation.
  • To self-authorise all operations conducted by the drone operator without applying for an authorisation.

Regulatory reference: article 12 of EU regulation 2012/947.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

Will I need to validate my operational authorisation with every other EASA Members state?

By 31 December 2020, any authorisation given by one MS will be valid in the rest of
Europe. The drone operator is required to first submit the declaration (if intending
to conduct an operation covered by a standard scenario) or receive an operational
authorisation from the National Aviation Authority of the state of registration.

For an operation covered by a standard scenario (SS), the drone operator must
send to the National Aviation Authority where it intends to operate, a copy of the
declaration and a copy of the confirmation of receipt and completeness received by
the National Aviation Authority of the state of registration. Then the drone operator
may start the operation following the requirement of the standard scenario and
verifying the geographical zone published by the National Aviation Authority where
the operation is conducted.

For operations not covered by a standard scenario in the ’specific’ category, the
drone operator must ensure that the mitigating measures submitted in his original
risk assessment are appropriate to the new environment it plan to operate in or
update them is necessary.

Then the drone operator must provide the National Aviation Authority of the
Member State of the intended operation with an application, which must include:
(a) a copy of the operational authorisation granted by the National Aviation
Authority of the Member State of registration; with

(b) the location (s) of the intended operation, including the updated mitigation
measures.

Upon receipt of the application, the National Aviation Authority of the Member State
of the intended operation will review the updated mitigation measure proposed.
They will confirm to the drone operator that the application is satisfactory. Once the
operator receives the confirmation, they may start the intended operation.
If the drone operator has been granted, by the National Aviation Authority of the
state of registration, an LUC (a light UAS operator certificate) with privileges to selfauthorise its operations, they must provide the National Aviation Authority of the
State of the intended operation with

  • a copy of the term of approval of the LUC and
  • the location or locations of the intended operation;

Regulatory reference: article 13 of EU regulation 2019/947.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

Can I fly my drone anywhere I want to?

Each EASA Member State will
determine drone geographical zones, which are areas where drones may not fly
(e.g. national parks, city centres or near airports) or may fly only under certain
conditions, or where they need a flight authorisation. Therefore, it is important for
you to consult your National Aviation Authority to check where you can and cannot
fly your drone.
These geographical zones apply to all categories.
In addition, you are not allowed to fly a drone close to or inside an area where there
is an ongoing emergency response.
See the links to National Aviation Authorities at:
https://www.easa.europa.eu/domains/civil-drones/naa

Regulatory reference: Article 15 and UAS.OPEN.060 (4) of EU regulation 2019/947.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

Can I fly over people?

Generally when you operate in the ‘open’ category, you are not allowed to fly over
uninvolved people, unless you have a privately built drone with a weight below 250
g or a drone purchased on the market with a class identification label0 or 1 mark.
In any case, try to minimise the time during which you fly over people.

If you have a drone with a CE class 2 mark, under subcategory A2, as a general
Page 11 of 65
rule, keep the UA at a lateral distance from any uninvolved person that is not less
than the height at which the drone is flying (this is the ‘1:1 rule’, i.e. if the UA is
flying at a height of 40 m, the distance from any uninvolved person should be at
least 40 m), and never fly closer than 30 metres horizontally from any uninvolved
person. If your drone is equipped with a low-speed mode function and this is active,
you can fly as close as 5 metres from uninvolved people.

Distance from uninvolved people in the case of flying with a class C2 drone
In all other cases (drones with class identification label3, 4, 5 or 6 marks or
privately built and heavier than 250 g), you need to ensure that no uninvolved
people are present within the range of the operation.

Regulatory reference: article 4 (1) (c) and UAS.OPEN.040 of EU regulation
2019/947.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

Under the 'open' category do I still need training, given that I was flying drones before the rules became applicable?

Any certificates of remote pilots’ competency issued by national authorities will
remain valid until 1 January 2022, after which your National Aviation Authority will
have to convert your national certificate(s) to new one(s) that comply with this
Regulation.
Whether or not you have to undergo more training after that date will depend on
the conversion process that your National Aviation Authority decides to put in
place.
As of 31 December 2020, if you do not have a national certificate for your remote
pilot competency, you will have to undergo the required competency training as
required for the ‘open’ category.

Regulatory reference: Article 21 and Annex part A (UAS.OPEN.020) and
(UAS.OPEN.040) of EU regulation 2019/947.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

Under the 'specific' category do I still need training, given that I was flying drones before the rules became applicable?

Any certificates of remote pilots’ competency issued by national authorities will
remain valid until 1 January 2022, after which your National Aviation Authority will
have to convert your national certificate(s) to new one(s) that comply with this
Regulation.
Whether or not you have to undergo more training after that date will depend on
the conversion process that your National Aviation Authority decides to put in
place.
As of 31 December 2020, if you do not have a national certificate for your remote
pilot competency, you will have to undergo the required competency training as
required for the ‘open’ category.

Regulatory reference: Article 21 and Annex part A (UAS.OPEN.020) and (UAS.OPEN.040) of EU Regulation 2019/947.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

 

How can I fly my model?

Model flyers have the following options to conduct their operations:

(a) They may operate as members of a model club or association that has
received from the competent authority an authorisation, as defined in Article 16 of
the UAS Regulation. In this case, they should comply with the procedures of the
model club or association in accordance with the authorisation. The authorisation
will define all the conditions to operate, and may deviate from the Regulation (for
example it may allow operations with drones exceeding 25 kg, or flying higher than
120 m etc). Member States may enable model aircraft clubs and associations to
register their members in the registration systems established in accordance with
Article 14 on their behalf. If this is not the case, the members of model aircraft
clubs and associations shall register themselves in accordance with Article 14.

(b) If a person does not want to become a member of a club or association,
they may use the special geographical zones defined by EASA Member States, in
accordance with Article 15(2) of the UAS Regulation, where drones and model
aircraft are exempted from certain technical requirements, and/or where the
operational limitations are extended, including the mass or height limitations.

(c) Lastly, models may be operated in subcategory A3. Please refer to the FAQ
Regulatory reference: Art.16 of EU regulation 2019/947.

(Reference Source EASA's FAQS)

What are the requirements under the subcategories of the ‘open’ category?

According to the class identification label of the drone or the weight, in the case of
privately built drones, they can be operated in different conditions as described
below:
Drones bearing a CE class 0 mark or that are privately built and weigh up to 250 g
can fly in subcategory A1, which means almost everywhere, except over assemblies
of people, or areas that the state has forbidden by imposing a restriction on the
flight of drones (please consult the website of your National Aviation Authority. See
https://www.easa.europa.eu/domains/civil-drones/naa ).

Drones bearing a class identification label 1 can also be operated in subcategory
A1 with the difference that you are required to minimise flying over uninvolved
people.