European Drone Regulations – DRONELIFE

At INTERGEO, Europe’s biggest mapping and GIS Expo held this week in Essen, Germany, AgEagle Regulatory Compliance Manager Pierre-Alain Marchand gave a presentation about the challenges, benefits, and opportunities in European drone regulations.  DRONELIFE spoke to AgEagle about the regulation framework, and developing products to match.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) released basic drone regulations last year.  The basic regulations defined the roles of EASA and member states, and outlined the basic framework for drone rules.  Europe has adopted operations-centric, risk-based regulations – outlined in the graphic below, shared with DRONELIFE.  Regulation 2019/947 defines three categories of UAS operations (open, specific and certified).  

Understanding the regulations, and the responsibilities of individual member states, is important for drone manufacturers.  Get it right, and EASA aircraft certification enables business with all…