New Law will change drone use rules in some cases

The Council of Ministers has approved a Royal Decree that updates the regulation of drones to boost the sector and promote the competitiveness of Spanish operators and manufacturers.

The new regulatory framework will come into force 20 days after its publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

With the new standard, the legal regime is developed for the civil use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), popularly known as drones.

Among the new features of the new UAS Royal Decree for EASA operations is training in a specific authorised category, exemption from insurance and reduction in the minimum age for remote pilots in the open category, which changes to 14 or 12 years depending on the subcategory and the type of UAS used.

In addition, the new regulations establish a new zoning, develop the U-Space regulatory framework and introduce changes in Non-EASA civil UAS operations.

Framework of action of the Royal Decree

The new Royal Decree establishes the legal regime applicable to drones of those civil activities or services that are excluded from the application of the European Union regulation, such as customs, police, search and rescue, firefighting activities or services, border control, coastal surveillance or similar.

On the other hand, this standard also completes the European legal regime on a regulatory framework for U-Space, in terms of organisation and powers, establishing the limitations and operational conditions associated with the geographic areas of UAS.

Likewise, ENAIRE is designated as the entity responsible for making available, in a single common digital format, information on the geographical areas of UAS identified in the territory and airspace of Spanish sovereignty.

In these areas, flight is authorised within the pilot’s visual range at a maximum height of 60 m without the need to coordinate with the aerodrome manager or ATS providers, except in UAS areas specifically associated with aerodrome infrastructure.

A training regime is completed for operations carried out under an operational authorisation, those that are intended for activities not subject to European regulations and those reserved for Radio Operator training specific to UAS/drones. In addition, the requirements are described for all those entities that wish to provide this type of training.

Likewise, the creation, in the Secretariat of State for Security, of the Registry of unmanned aircraft of the Ministry of the Interior stands out, to prevent, investigate or detect criminal and administrative infractions, including protection and prevention against threats against citizen security.