In this drone regulations update industry expert Yves Morier provides a summary of significant developments in rulemaking or related to rulemaking affecting the drone industry in the following countries: Africa, Australia, Canada, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Korea, Latin America, Pakistan, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates.
Yves Morier has 40+ years of experience working in the aviation industry and is a well-renowned expert in safety, airworthiness, UAS, and regulations.
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OTHER COUNTRIES:
1. Africa
AFRICAN DRONE REGULATIONS: HOW EASY IS IT TO OPERATE IN THE AFRICAN MARKET? – Source DroneLife
YMO: the article highlights that 33% of African Countries have Drone regulations, another 25% have guidance but the rest have nothing at all. There are not yet harmonised drone regulations in Africa. It describes in more details the South African regulations. The article is based on a podcast where the participants agreed that the SORA would be a good tool in the African context.
2. Australia:
AUSTRALIAN DRONE REGULATIONS NEAT POLICY – Source DroneLife
YMO: The article highlight the National Emerging Aviation Technologies (NEAT) policy and present an overview of the Australian regulations.
AUSTRALIA SEEKS COMMENTS ON DRAFT STANDARDS RELATING TO COMMON BEYOND LINE-OF-SIGHT APPLICATIONS – Source Unmanned airspace
YMO: consultation on a set of 7 standard scenarios
YMO: the draft Standard Scenarios may be found at:
Draft guidance for RPAS BVLOS operations
3. Canada
The strategy envisages 5 priorities.
CANADIAN DRONE INDUSTRY TAKING OFF – Source DroneLife
A thorough overview of Transport Canada present regulations and plans. The article addresses BVLOS operations, night operations, operations over people, complex operations, traffic management.
It also indicates that there are plans for allowing low risk BVLOS operations without authorizations (looks like a standard scenario).
CANADAC: NEW CANADIAN DRONE ADVISORY COMMITTEE, CREATED – Source DroneDJ
YMO: the article describe the scope, mandate, and participants in the CanaDAC (Canada Drone Advisory Council). FAA is participating.
4. India
INDIA: CENTRE NOTIFIES UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEM RULES, 2021- Source Live Law
YMO: the article outline the scope of the rule, the categories of UAS (airplane, rotorcraft, hybrid); the conditions to be an owner or an economic actor(age, citizenship), their applicability( to India registered UAS wherever they are, to owners or economic actors in India, all UAS overflying or located in India).
The official gazette is available only in Hindi.
INDIA’S NEW DRONE LAWS "MANDATE REAL-TIME TRACKING BUT BAN CARGO DELIVERIES" – Source Unmanned airspace
According to the article, the law will be very constraining. It mandates for example 16 elements that must be installed on drones.
The article contain a description of the key elements of the law.
5. Indonesia:
INDONESIA AUTHORIZES FIRST NIGHT-TIME PERMIT FOR DRONE OPERATIONS – Source Terra Drone
Its is an exemption based on a safety assessment to the existing rule.
6. Israel:
On December 28, 2020, the Ministry of Communications published a draft of the Wireless Telegraph Regulations which will effectively create a process for permitting the manufacture, import and outdoor use of drones using the 5.8GHz frequency that was prohibited up to now. The Regulations intends to create new opportunities for the drone industry and to facilitate the import advanced wireless devices.
7. Japan
JAPAN AVIATION LAW REVISED TO ALLOW BVLOS FLIGHTS- Source JUIDA
YMO: for BVLOS flights of category 4, the drone and the pilot skills must be certified.
The Japanese Transport Safety Board requires to report drone accidents where people were injured, or property was damaged or when a collision with an aircraft occurred.
8. Korea
KOREA PUBLISHES NEW URBAN AIR MOBILITY ROADMAP – Source Unmanned airspace
YMO: The roadmap is in 3 phases:
In 2035, 50 Vertiports and 200 routes are envisaged.
9. Latin America
DRONE REGULATIONS IN LATIN AMERICA – Source DroneLife
Each countries have their own rules but there are common factors such as a maximum height of 400ft. The Colombian Rules are described in more details. They include 3 categories: open (recreational), regulated (comparable to FAR 107) and certified. Remote identification and UTM are not yet there. A conference (Ibero-American Drone Conference) has been created to serve as a knowledge platform.
10. New Zealand
Present consultation in on rules update, basic pilot qualification, registration, and remote identification. Consultation documents may be found at:
11. Pakistan
PAKISTAN: PM IMRAN KHAN APPROVES ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL DRONE AUTHORITY – Source Unmanned airspace
YMO: The Authority will oversee the regulating and monitoring of the drone Industry. The article briefly describes the authority.
12. United Arab Emirates
UAE LEADING THE WORLD INTO THE ‘SCI-FI ZONE’ – Source Arabian Aerospace
The article mentions that the UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA) has issued a framework of rules to govern urban air mobility (UAM).
Interested in other regions? Read our regulations update for Europe, International Organizations, USA or subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest content updates from DroneTalks.
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