EASA urban drone traffic management rules

EASA has published the first view worldwide on the use and control of drones in an urban environment, balancing the desire to maximise the commercial and convenience benefits of drones against the need to ensure the safety and privacy of citizens and the potential environmental impact on cities.

Link to news article.

Link to EASA Opinion No 01/2020

The objective of this Opinion is to create and harmonise the necessary conditions for manned and unmanned
aircraft to operate safely in the U-space airspace, to prevent collisions between aircraft and to mitigate the air and ground risks. Therefore, the U-space regulatory framework, supported by clear and simple rules, should permit safe aircraft operations in all areas and for all types of unmanned operations.
This Opinion proposes an effective and enforceable regulatory framework to support and enable operational, technical and business developments, and provide fair access to all airspace users, so that the market can drive the delivery of the U-space services to cater for airspace users’ needs.
This Opinion is, therefore, a first regulatory step to allow immediate implementation of the U-space after the entry into force of the Regulation and to let the unmanned aircraft systems and U-space technologies evolve.

As we see the increasing development of UAM (Air Taxis) the need for strict UTM (the management of unmanned systems) will be necessary to improve the safety of the shared airspace. This will include drone operations.

Will this affect drone operations in the UK? Currently the UK will adopt EASA rules in July, however the UK is also in the transition period for Brexit. We can only wait and see what the CAA propose come the end of 2020 and in to January 2021. The UK CAA have expressed an interest in the future of UAM and UTM in UK airspace.

A post was merged into an existing topic: EASA and the UK!