The European Union Aviation Safety Agency plans to simplify Regulation (EU) No 2019/947 to reduce the administrative burden on National Aviation Authorities NAAs by establishing a more streamlined authorisation process for low-risk, frequently occurring drone operations. It has published a survey for comments on expanding the limits of the open category and amending the Standard Scenarios.
“The current categorisation of UAS and UAS operations has led to overly restrictive conditions for many low-risk, frequently occurring operations, says EASA.”Approval data from European Member States (MS) show that approximately 70% of authorised operations in the SPECIFIC category share common characteristics: they are operated in VLOS within urban environments (SAIL I and SAIL II operations). Based on experience to date, the general belief is that these operations are low risk and repetitive in nature and therefore more suited in the OPEN category. While having them in the SPECIFIC, they still require an assessment under the SORA framework, what results in lengthy approval processes. This imposes a significant administrative burden on both competent authorities and UAS operators, hindering efforts to unleash the growth potential of UAS operations.
“Simplifying the (EU) 2019/947 regulatory framework to better accommodate UAS operations would unlock the growth potential of drones market.”
Deadline for comments is May 1, 2026
For more information
https://ec.europa.eu/eusurvey/runner/42562005-9555-7498-c594-431d45672375
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