FutureFlight
European Orgs Ask for More Industry Input on Drone Regs
A cross-section of European organizations, including EBAA, asked the EC to pause a current proposal on drone integration to enable greater industry input.
Athar Husain Khan
EBAA secretary-general Athar Husain Khan.

The European aviation community is asking regulators to put a pause on its current proposal surrounding the integration of drones into airspace and to pursue a more comprehensive consultation on the issue that provides for greater industry input and clarity. Members of the “We are all ONE in the sky” initiative, including 17 industry organizations, wrote the European Commission this week saying they believe the upcoming “U-Space” airspace regulation is an important first step toward achieving a performance-based and risk-based approach to integration.

“Unfortunately, while some progress has been made since the draft opinion was first published in October 2019, the draft regulation still does not fully address the concerns that have been consistently raised by the signatories to this letter,” said the organizations, which included the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA), as well as groups representing the air transport sector.