European aviation leaders endorsed a seven-point plan today that they said would aid European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) member states in implementing drone regulations and in developing an institutional framework for the operation of drones in the Single European Sky.
Those elements and others are needed to continue progress toward a common European drone services market, aviation leaders said in concluding the two-day EASA High-Level Conference on Drones, held early in the week in Amsterdam. More than 650 people from 50 countries attended the session.
“We need to regulate differently on drones, faster and better, encouraging innovation while ensuring safe, secure and socially acceptable operations,” EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said. “The drone community has a key role in providing feedback to the regulators, which we use to identify the areas that the European institutions and industry need to focus on. This paves the way to make areas such as urban mobility integrated in a multimodal transport system a reality.”
EASA said other provisions of the Amsterdam Declaration endorsed by aviation leaders called for the development of European product standards for drones, for supporting cities in their efforts “to provide a fertile ground for innovative multimodal solutions” and for developing communication and promotional materials for information campaigns involving drone users.
Other elements of the plan urge efforts to speed the opening of a drone services network and to encourage investment in research and development to pave the way for “safe, secure and green drone operations in Europe.”
