Published in a document called a Notice of Proposed Amendment (NPA), the proposal was developed with the support of a large group of stakeholders including the industry, the operators, and the aeromodelling community. The proposed regulatory framework takes into consideration the significant number of comments received on the Prototype Rules published in August 2016 and confirms the establishment of 3 categories of operations (Open, Specified and Certified) with different safety requirements, proportionate to the risk.
The proposal (which relates to the Open and Specific Categories) explicitly addresses privacy and data protection issues and includes the following regulatory changes:
- For mass product drones, introduction of the well-known CE marking (label) and obligation for manufacturers to include a safety leaflet in every drone box
- Obligation for operators to register their drone(s) of more than 250 gr when operated in the Open Category
- Obligation for operators to conduct a risk assessment before starting an operation in the Specific Category
- Definition of standard scenarios in the Specific Category by EASA with the possibility for the Member States to create additional ones
- When required, drones must be equipped with a geofencing system and/or an electronic identification system
- Freedom for the Member States to create zones where the use of a drone is prohibited, limited or facilitated (Article 12)
All interested parties are invited to send comments on the document through the EASA online Comment Respond Tool platform until 12 August 2017.
For more information about the NPA and civil drones in general, please visit the website of EASA.