– EASA has just released the updated Guidelines for UAS operations in the open and specific category, which now include best practices for drone flights over railways in the open category.
Introduction and Purpose of these Guidelines
Since 2021, when Regulations (EU) No 2019/945 and No 2019/947 became applicable, Europe became one of the first region in the world regulating drone operations. To allow the use of new technology, the regulations were developed following a performance-based, flexible approach, identifying the minimum safety performance required, and leaving to UAS operators the possibility to define the ‘how’ to reach it. This has the benefit of not slowing down the evolution of the drone market, that is continuously evolving at a fast pace; however, sometimes it may be more difficult for UAS operators to identify solutions that may reach the minimum safety performance while being compliant with the regulation.
To support application of Regulations (EU) No 2019/9451 and No 2019/9472, EASA is developing, with the support of NAAs and of the industry, acceptable means of compliance (AMC) and guidance material (GM) (see easy access rule on UAS). Nevertheless, the UAS community is asking to share additional material based on lessons learned and best practices resulting from the experience gained in the last 2 years of implementation of both regulations.
The purpose of the guidelines here is to share such additional material with the UAS Community, so that both industry and Member States may use it as a reference to support application of Regulations (EU) No 2019/945 and No 2019/947. EASA will continue to collect feedback from the community and, once the material contained in these guidelines is considered sufficiently mature, will apply the rulemaking process, transferring them in AMC and GM that are regularly integrated in the easy access rule on UAS.
These guidelines are therefore not to be construed as Guidance Material adopted under Article 76 (3) of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139. They are not legally binding and shall be considered as a working document only, which summarises and disseminates the experience of application of the drone regulatory framework to facilitate of application by the competent authorities, operators and addressees of Regulations (EU) No. 2019/945 and No. 2019/947.
The content of these guidelines shall not be interpreted or used to contradict or modify the requirements of Regulations (EU) No 2019/945 and No 2019/947 and shall not be in and of themselves, be used to justify the opening of findings of non-compliance during oversight and standardisation activities, conducted by either the Agency or by national competent authorities.
The 26-page Guidelines document can be accessed here.
Source: EASA