FIMI Drones in EU

EU legislation in force

In the EU, a specialised agency, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, deals with drone issues (among others). From 1 January 2024, EU-wide legislation in force has changed. In the EU there is now an ‘open category’ of drones among others. Here's what it is:

A drone can be operated in the “Open “category when it:
- bears one of the class identification labels 0, 1, 2, 3 or 4; or
- is privately built and its weight is less than 25 kg; or
- it is placed on the market before 31 December 2023 and bears no class identification label as mentioned below;
- will not be operated directly over people, unless it bears a class identification label or is lighter than 250 g. (Please refer to subcategories of operations: A1, A2 and A3 to find out where you can fly with your drone);
- will be maintained in visual line of sight (VLOS) or the remote pilot will be assisted by a UA observer;
- is flown at a height of no more than 120 metres;
- will not carry any dangerous goods and will not drop any material.

Regulatory reference: Article 4 and article 20 of EU Regulation 2019/947; Annex part A and Article 5(1) of EU Regulation 2019/947, Part1 to 5 Annex of EU regulation 2019/945.

What are the most important points from the legislation

  • Before you can fly you need to get a drone pilot category A1, A2, A3 (drone pilot licence)
  • You don't have to register as a drone operator only if your drone falls under the C0 category (no camera) or it's a toy drone
  • You have to consider the minimum age requirement for a drone operator
  • Drones placed on the EU market after 31 December 2023 must have a C0-C6 certificate and appropriate markings on the hull
  • In almost all of the EU, drones/operators of category C0 and above are required to have insurance for possible collision damage
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Here is what you can and can't do with drones in their respective categories

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Operations in the open category must be conducted with a drone: bearing a C0 to C4 class identification label, or; being privately built (built for your own use), or; even without class identification label, but only if placed on the market before 31 December 2023. Drones bearing a class identification label can be already utilised in accordance with the conditions shown in the menus below. Be aware that ‘privately built’ means that you built the drone for your own personal use, so it was not purchased; it does not refer to UASs assembled from sets of parts placed on the market as a single, ready-to-assemble kit.