Under the ‘We are All One in the Sky’ initiative a group of leading European aviation associations have called on the European Commission to develop a co-operative approach to ensure the safe integration of drones into European airspace.

Joint signatories of the ‘We are All in the Sky’ initiative – representing airlines, air navigation service providers, airports, business aviation, general aviation, helicopters, aircraft and drone manufacturers and professional staff organisations – have issued an open letter to the European Transport Commissioner, Ms Valean on the EASA proposal for a high-level regulatory framework for unmanned aviation operations and UAS traffic management (UTM/U-Space).

Commenting on the open letter, EBAA Secretary-General Athar Husain Khan said: “EBAA has always supported an inclusive approach that takes into account the needs of all airspace users. The current proposal from EASA is a promising first step, but more work is required to find a solution that does not limit airspace availability.”

The letter calls on the European Commission to

  • Develop further the latest regulation proposal to secure the support of the aviation industry.
  • Launch a new and more comprehensive consultation, involving key representatives from manned and unmanned aviation organisations all together.
  • Ensure the transparency and efficiency of the regulatory processes and related decision-making processes.

The signatories have expressed their support for developing a regulatory framework for U-Space. from a safety, public security, capacity and economic perspective a performance-based and risk-based regulatory framework can provide certainty to all airspace users and the aviation community. It can also facilitate the safe integration of drones in Europe’s skies, ensuring commercial drone services can grow.

The upcoming U-Space Regulation represents an important opportunity to achieve this goal worldwide. The signatories believe that the lessons learnt form the implementation of the proposed regulation in Europe should be leveraged to inform ICAO’s Global UTM Framework and other regulatory efforts across the world.

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