South Africa to Cut Remote Pilot Operator Approval Time

The senior official at the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) in charge of issuing Remote Pilot Operators Certificates says that the long waiting periods for permission to run commercial unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operations will soon be over.

Firms wishing to operate in the emerging commercial UAV sector have complained about the 18-24 months wait to obtain licensing but the SACAA’s Albert Msithini said the waiting time was likely to drop to 90 days within months.

In a presentation to the Drones Africa Summit 2017 in Boksburg earlier this week, Msithini said the turnaround time for those who have submitted the correct documents would be 90 days. Companies and individuals will still have to separately obtain Air Services Licenses from the SA Department of Transport.

The approval of Remote Pilots Licenses (RPLs) for pilots, who cannot provide services without working for an operator, takes about a month. Only 17 drone operator licenses have been issued over the past 26 months, with one having been revoked.

Msitihini is the Project Leader for Remotely Pilot Aircraft Systems (RPAS), but also says he is currently running two other departments and says he has not had enough staff. He largely attributes the delays to understaffing due to high turnover of staff at the SACAA. In recent months the SACAA has recruited and trained new staff and Msithini hopes teams will soon be in place to ensure faster approval times

Dean Polley, the President of the Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Association of Southern Africa, (CUAASA), said private industry continued an “active engagement “with the CAA on the issue of delays in approvals of drone operator licenses.”

In his presentation, Msithini said the SACAA would soon be looking into possible regulation of the design, manufacture, and maintenance of commercial remotely piloted vehicles. However, some private industry representatives were doubtful that this could be effectively achieved due to the current difficulties at the SACAA.

With the increased sophistication of drone technology, new challenges are fast emerging for aviation regulators around the world. One of the more immediate issues is the integration into the air traffic system of aircraft that operate Beyond Visual Line of Sight of the operator. There is increasing demand for this ability, particularly if UAV deliveries are to be allowed to grow.

Source: Defence Web