Exactly 10 years ago, on 6 March 2015, the European aviation community gathered in Riga to exchange views on how, and under which conditions, drones could help create promising new opportunities in Europe, offering sustainable jobs and new prospects for growth both for the drone manufacturing industry and for future users of drones in all sectors of society.
The aviation community then established five principles to guide the regulatory framework in Europe. Let’s see what the status of those is today.
1. Drones need to be treated as new types of aircraft with proportionate rules based on the risk of each operation
EU Regulation 2019/947, which is applicable since 31 December 2020 in all EU Member States, caters for most types of civil drone operations and their associated risk levels. It defines three categories of civil drone operations: the ‘open’, the ‘specific’ and the ‘certified’ category. The ‘open’ category includes flights with the lowest risk to people on the ground, either executed with small drones close to people, or heavy drones but far away from people. The ‘specific’ category covers riskier drone operations, where the drone operator ensures safety by drafting a detailed risk analysis and obtaining an operational declaration or authorisation from the national competent authority before starting the operation. In the ‘certified’ category, the safety risk is considered very high, e.g. transporting peoply by taxi drones. In this category, rules are more similar to crewed aviation where safety is ensured by a.o. the airworthiness certification of the drone operator and its drone, and additionally the licensing of the remote pilot(s) is always required to ensure safety.
On top of these generic flight category rules, a Member State can furthermore designate ‘geozones’ where additional national rules apply to mitigate location-specific risks, e.g. no fly zones close to airports or critical infrastructure sites.
The risk-based regulation is in place, so this principle can be considered addressed. However, the ‘certified’ category, which carries the highest risk, still requires further work regarding passenger drone certification.
2. EU rules for the safe provision of drone services need to be developed
In April 2021, the European Commission adopted the U-space package, which became applicable as of 26 January 2023. The U-space package consists of three regulations that together create the conditions necessary for both drones and crewed aircraft to operate safely while sharing the same U-space airspace.
These regulations introduced new services for drone operators, allowing them to carry out more complex and longer distance operations, particularly in congested, low-level airspace (below 120m), and beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS). U-space creates and harmonises the conditions needed for crewed and uncrewed aircraft to operate safely and to prevent collisions between drones and other aircraft.
Although sharing the same airspace, state aircraft drone operations are by default exempted from the U-space regulation. As such, it’s still up to each Member State to decide whether there is an opt-in to U-space for this type of operations. With plenty of police forces and fire brigades increasingly relying on the use of drones, ignoring U-space becomes less of an option.
The U-space framework has been established, and the initial implementations of U-space have already started in some EU Member States. However, there remains a gap in knowledge, resources, and experience necessary to effectively scale up U-space deployment.
On top of that, the regulation leaves quite some room for Member States to implement their own flavor, jeopardizing a harmonised implementation across Europe.
3. Technologies and standards need to be developed for the full integration of drones in the European airspace
To enable safe and efficient drone operations, the U-space framework introduced digital services that all drone operators must use through their chosen U-space Service Provider (USSP):
- Geo-awareness service: Ensuring drone operators are aware of geozones where restricitons apply.
- UAS Flight Authorisation service: Ensuring all drone flight plans are properly deconflicted in both space and time, so no two drone flights can occur at the same time at the same location.
- Network Identification service: Allowing USSPs to know in real-time where their customers’ drones are flying, and sharing that information with relevant authorities.
- Traffic Information service: Providing a full air picture to drone operators of where both drones and other crewed aircraft are flying.
Needless to say that these services heavily rely on the exchange of data, both among USSPs as well as to and from authorities and other aviation stakeholders such as air traffic service providers.
Several European companies, including SkeyDrone, are developing these services and hence aim to become certified U-space service providers. The first U-space airspace designations are starting to take shape across EU member states, including in Belgium through the BURDI project. During that implementation effort, the lack of a required full set of useable interoperability standards became an issue which had to be solved.
4. Public acceptance is key to the growth of drone services
According to several studies and surveys, public acceptance of drones in the EU remains mixed, depending on their use case, perceived benefits, and concerns about safety, privacy, and noise pollution. Public support is strongest for drones used in emergency response, medical deliveries, and infrastructure inspections.
We believe that public acceptance will improve as drones become more visible in positive use cases like healthcare logistics and emergency response. Transparent communication, noise reduction efforts, and strong safety measures will be key to easing concerns about drones flying over populated areas. Making sure a properly developed law enforcement framework, removing the clueless and careless drone operators from the equation, can additionally support the social acceptance.
5. The operator of a drone is responsible for its use
Several cases are known of drone operators facing fines for violation drone regulations in the EU. In Belgium (July 2023), a drone pilot was fined €8,000 for not respecting the air traffic regulations during the music festival Tomorrowland. In Sweden (July 2024), a drone pilot was fined 32,000 SEK for operating a drone in a temporary no-fly zone, under the influence of alcohol during a classic car event in Rättvik, Dalarna. In Italy (April 2016), a French tourist was arrested and faced a fine of up to €113,000 after he flew his drone over the Colosseum in Rome.
Although drone operators are held responsible for their actions, there is still a lack of knowledge about the legislation among drone pilots, such as the requirement to request flight authorisation in specific geozones. SkeyDrone’s drone detection system has indicated that authorised flights constitute only a small portion of the total drone activity.
Conclusion
While these five principles have successfully guided the regulatory framework in Europe, practical implementation and industry adaptation remain ongoing challenges. Nevertheless, there’s been a significant increase in drone traffic in Europe over the past ten years and no major incidents or accidents have happened. We’re all looking forward to a steady increase the next ten years.
Click here to read all about SkeyDrone’s 2025 U-space vision.
