How will the new EASA drone rules impact drone flying in the UK?
With the release of CAP 1789 by the CAA on 21st June 2019, we are starting to get a lot of questions about how the new EASA drone rules will impact the use of drones in the UK. As a result, we have tried to put this guide together. Please be aware that we are still in a state of flux and improving our understanding daily. So please treat this page as a live document. We will be continuously updating it, as we get information, to try and keep it correct as possible.
The release of the updated CAP 722 in November 2020 and the increasing likelihood that there will be no mutual agreement between the UK and EASA means I am working to get this as correct as I can. The UK CAA are now implementing the “retained” EU UAS regulation package on 31st DEcember 2020. I have updated the refererences and am working through the rest of the document.
I am not going to try to rewrite CAP 722, the CAA guidance, as it is pretty clear. My aim is to look at direct impacts and future-proofing.
Overview of the new UK drone rules
A question we are being asked a lot at the moment is, “do the new UK drone rules mean that the PfCO is dead?” Well, yes and no. Anybody who currently works under a PfCO will transition to an Operational Authorisation during 2021. The rules, basically, become much more simply based on risk rather than whether or not you are earning money, which is the way it should be! Should it matter if one drone operator is earning money and another isn’t?… If they are flying in the same location then the risk of the flights is the same.
As there is no pilot in the drone, the risk to the drone itself is subsidiary to the risk to people on the ground and other air users.
The full Guidance to drone use in the UK is now held in CAP 722. The main drone regulation is held in CAP 1789A and CAP 1789B.
UK operators and the CAA had a lot of input into the new EU rules. They really pave the way to an open drone market across the European Union. Hopefully, Brexit won’t get in the way of that too much. However, due to the UK leaving both the EU and EASA, the CAA has had to mirror the regulations so hopefully an agreement will be reached to be beneficial for UK operators who want to operate in other EU countries.
The rules have been developed by a number of entities but are being coordinated by EASA. In simple terms there are seen to be two ways to make drone operations safer:
- The use of equipment built to European safety standards
- A risk assessment that takes into account the risk of the operation and competence of the remote pilot.
Under the retained EASA rules there are three categories of drone use. These are summaries, I hope to expand further blogs for each category.
open category
Low or no risk to third parties
Basic, predefined operational characteristics
no authorisation required
Basic level of training
specific category
Too complex or risky to be carried out in the open category
Operational authorisation required from the CAA
level of training depends on risk
certified category
Risk equivalent to manned aviation
Certification of aircraft and operator required
High level of training and licensing
Timeline for the implementation of the new rules
The first phase of the new regulations is drone registration. Drone registration in the UK is intended to go live on 1st of October 2019 and will be enforced from 30th November 2019. Please see my drone registration post for more information.Â
Drone registration in the UK opens
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Although the EASA drone rules were released in June 2019, they were due to come into force on July 1st 2020. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak the implementation across Europe has now been moved to 31st December 2020.
This is to allow time for the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) and Department for Transport (DfT) to bring the UK legislation into line. More information on the transition arrangements will be released later this year. All national arrangements that are different from the EU rules must be phased out by 1 January 2023.
New UK and EASA drone rules come into force
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Transition period ends in the EU and UK
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 Will I need new drones?
That depends on what you want to do! This is where we need to dig into the categories a bit. The aim of the “Open” Category is that everything under it will eventually be achievable with off-the-shelf drones, specifically built for each subcategory, with a series of requirements of use included with the drone at the point of purchase.
The new drones, that can be released after 1st July 2019, will initially be CE marked in one of 5 initial categories C0-C4. Any off the shelf drone that is not CE marked is classed as “legacy”. There is also a separation for privately built drones.
CE marking CANNOT be retrospectively applied to drones, so there is no point in trying to shave 7g off your Mavic 2 Pro!
Some legacy drones will be able to be used in Open category until 31st December 2022 but they either have more stringent weight or distance requirements.
Drone requirements
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Open category - Subcategory A1
- For C0 and C1 class drones
- Low or no risk to people
- Overflight of uninvolved people allowed (but not crowds) by drones in class C0
- Intentional overflight not permitted by class C1
Open category - Subcategory A2
- For C2 class drones
- Distance requirements from uninvolved people
- 30m horizontal distance with a C2 class drone
- 5m horizontal distance permitted in a “low speed mode” of <3m/s
Open category - Subcategory A3
- For C3 and C4 class drones
- No uninvolved people in the area of the flight
- must be 150m horizontally from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas
- Drones of up to 25kg can be used in this subcategory, including privately built and legacy drones
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Will I require training?
Remember, under the new UK CAA drone rules, there is no longer a separation between recreational and commercial operations. As a result, training requirements will increase with the risk the flight poses and the equipment used.
Training may be online only, or a combination of training and assessment based on the risk of the operation. The UK training regime will be overseen by the CAA and the CAA have now appointed Recognised Assessment Entities (RAEs) like us to deliver the new GVC and A2 CofC courses.
It is likely that a lot of current operations will need to come under the Specific category. The Specific category will require a higher level of training and will be roughly at the level of the legacy PfCO and OSC proofs of competency. The Open category is seen as low or no risk, so requires a lower level of training but limits the use of drones by proximity to uninvolved people or the weight of the drone.
The Certified category goes far beyond where most drone operators will be for the moment and I will release more information onve the Open and Specific categories have got underway.
Training and registration requirements
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Open Category - A1 - C0
- Registration required if camera equipped but not a toy
- Read user manual
- CAA online DAMARES training (if not a toy)
- CAA Online foundation test (if not a toy)
Open Category - A1 - C1
- Registration required
- Read user manual
- CAA Online training
- CAA Online foundation test
Open Category - A2 - C2
- Registration required
- Read user manual
- CAA online training
- CAA online foundation test
- Self-declaration of practical training
- A2 Certificate of Competence theoretical test
Open Category - A3 - C3 and C4
- Registration required
- Read user manual
- CAA online training
- CAA online foundation test
Specific Category
- Registration required
- This has variable training requirements ranging from the basic foundation test all the way up to a potential Remote Pilot Licence (RPL). The level of training will be dictated by risk.
- ‘Standard Scenarios’ with known risk profiles will be written over the next few years. The required training will be built into the Standard Scenario requirements.
- The Light UAS Operator Certificate (LUC) will be of interest to some operators in this category.
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I hope that helps, if you think any of this is wrong or you have further questions, please let me know on the Facebook group or at elliottisneverwrong@dronetraining.co.uk
Fly safe!