- The UK CAA recommends that DfT “extend” the terms of open category legacy and transitional drones indefinitely.
- The CAA also asks DfT to reassess the class marking scheme.
- The CAA consulted on the proposal and received 4,506 responses, including 2,411 additional comments.
- “A clear and significant majority supports extending legacy and transition clauses beyond 24 months,” the CAA said.
- If approved, it means that the current UK drone law in the open category will remain the same and will not change at the end of this year (as currently planned).
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) urges the Government to extend the open category legacy and transitional drone provisions “indefinitely” and reassess the classification scheme.
It follows discussions on proposals that prompted thousands of responses from the drone community and “a clear and significant majority in support of the legacy and transition clause extensions beyond 24 months.”
The CAA submits its recommendations to the Ministry of Transport (DfT). You can read the full report here.
If approved, pilots operating drones without class marks will be able to enjoy the benefits of the current rules for a longer period of time after 31 December 2022.
This is especially useful for drone pilots such as the DJI Mavic 3 and Mavic 2 series. These pilots will be able to fly under the transition clause of the A2 subcategory instead of the A2CofC early next year. More stringent standards for the A3 subcategory.
Second, it extends the life of current drones on the market and provides greater operational freedom over longer periods of time. For more information on UK drone law, see our detailed guide.
consultation
CAA began talks earlier this year. The CAA may need to extend its legacy and transition clauses as the UK does not have the necessary infrastructure to move from non-classmark UAS to classmark UAS by January 1, 2023. He expressed the view that there is sex.
The purpose of the consultation was to evaluate the views of stakeholders.
In total, 97.98% agreed to extend the provisions of the open category legacy category UAS, and 70.73% supported the idea of extending it beyond 24 months.
A total of 96.69% agreed with the extension of the provisional provision, and 78.16% wanted to extend it beyond 24 months.
Respondents cited the following reasons.
・ Environmental impact: A significant proportion of respondents are concerned about the potential environmental impact of thousands of UASs, many of which are still functioning and will be e-waste at the end of the transition and legacy periods. Respondents said the industry would see the natural abolition of legacy and transitional UAS when class-marked UAS became available.
・ Economic impact: Most of the responses focused on the economic impact of having to upgrade to a Class Marked UAS after making a large investment in Legacy and Transition UAS. The CAA was said to drive commercial operators out of the market as well as entertainment if the current regulations were allowed to continue.
・ Investment uncertainty: Many respondents told CAA that their business has postponed the long-awaited purchase of the enhanced UAS because of concerns about the future in the open category. UAS with class mark surrounding the current uncertainty that is creating uncertainty
Business management.
· safety: A significant proportion of respondents argued against open-category class-marked UAS. Quoting the low amount of incidents currently occurring among those who are in compliance with the current regulatory system.
Against this background, CAA is currently issuing feedback to DfT, seeking extensions.
The CAA’s recommendation states: ‘This (discussion) was a valuable exercise for the CAA to find out why the regulated community agreed with it.It greatly shaped our own opinion and shaped our reaction
Ministry of Transport.
‘All provisions need to be extended indefinitely and the class marking scheme reassessed. This forms part of the current UAS open category regulatory framework and a larger study of what best suits the UK.
“This is to ensure that the solution responds appropriately to the needs of the community and addresses safety and security risks in proportion. Despite a reassessment of the classification scheme, at least consumer exposure. The extension must be indefinite until you can purchase Class Marking UAS on the market.
‘At that point, you can consider reintroducing the transition period. This gives regulated communities enough time to naturally phase out old UAS, while also allowing them to purchase class-marked UAS.
“This approach will significantly reduce almost all concerns raised in the response to the consultation.”
The DfT decision will be announced shortly.