Rules about how users can operate drones in the UK and across the European Union have come into force.

The amendment to existing regulations, which was implemented on Thursday, has categorised drones into three risk categories.

The categories are as follows:

• Low-risk operations (“open” category) will not require any authorisation but will be subject to strict operational limitations.
• For medium risk operations, operators will have to require an authorization from the national aviation authority based on a standardised risk assessment or a specific scenario (specific category).
• For high-risk operations, classical aviation rules will apply (certified category).
The rules state that it is against the law to fly a drone without having the required IDs and that all drones, regardless of risk level, must be registered with the appropriate aviation authority.

The Civil Aviation Authority is the UK agency for drone registration.

According to the new regulations, users must have both a flyer ID, which shows a drone operator has passed a basic flying test, and an operator ID, which must be labelled on the drone or model aircraft.

Drone users can be fined for breaking the new rules when flying, and in the most serious cases, could be sent to prison.

“We welcome the new EU Drone Regulation as it streamlines different processes and allows DJI customers to travel from country to country without having to worry about different rules in different foreign locations,” said Christian Struwe, director of public policy at drone technology company DJI, EMEA. “Striking a balance between the need to harmonize regulation of the safe use of drone technology and allowing our customers to benefit freely from its growing potential has always been of paramount importance for DJI in Europe.”

Share Story: