Declaration of authorization to conduct flights abroad, what about European drone legislation (cross-border procedure)?

Are you a remote pilot of aircraft and wish to carry out drone flights in another European country?

Here's what European drone legislation says. It allows a drone pilot to fly in a country other than their own.

The European transition (with EU decree 947) allows a drone operator registered in one European country to fly over or carry out drone missions in another European Union state (those that have signed EU decree 947).

All drone pilots registered in France have the possibility to fly in Europe subject to making a prior declaration of flight authorization in the country concerned. This is a cross-border procedure complying with the new EU decree 947 for drone operators. Until now, it was impossible for French drone operators to fly in another country. But since the transition to the new European drone legislation in 2021, it is possible for a drone operator to fly abroad if and only if the destination country has signed EU947.

Reminder of the requirements necessary to operate a drone flight in Europe.

The drone operator must meet the following conditions:
– firstly, to comply with French national regulations.
– to have registered as a UAS operator to comply with the new European regulations. As you know, you must register your drone with the DGAC (French Civil Aviation Authority) and have submitted your specific activity declaration. Registration of each drone is mandatory on the DGAC's Alphatango portal.
– to have equipped their drone with a digital identification and electronic reporting device.
– to be a remote pilot i.e. training and exams: European regulations require certifications for certain categories.
– to be insured.

What is the procedure to follow to fly your drone in a European country?

1. Choosing the drone scenario
Currently, only scenarios A1, A2, and A3 are considered standard European drone scenarios. Indeed, there are currently no C5 and C6 certified drones (and therefore no drones authorized) to conduct STS-1 and/or STS-2 flights in Europe.

Consequently, if an operator of a specific activity wishes to carry out a non-standard scenario (i.e., not falling within the scope of scenarios A1, A2, and A3), they must apply to the DSAC for authorization as a drone operator for a specific category (such as PRDA, SORA, and/or a LUC). This is a prerequisite for any request to overfly the airspace of a European country.

Article 12 – Authorisation for operators of a specific category.
Here is what Article 12 says:« The competent authority assesses the risk assessment and the robustness of the mitigation measures proposed by the UAS operator to ensure the safe operation of the UAS during all phases of flight. The competent authority issues an operating authorization when the assessment concludes that the operational safety objectives take into account the risks of the operation and that the combination of mitigation measures planned to address the operational conditions of the operations is respected. The competent authority concludes that the personnel concerned are competent and that the technical characteristics of the unmanned aircraft are adequate and sufficiently robust to ensure the safe operation, taking into account the risks identified on the ground and in flight.»

Here is the link to the Official document of the EU947 drone decree. See article 12 on page 13.

2. What to do once the operational scenario has been validated by our national body?
If the Directorate General of Civil Aviation sends you back the signed CERFA authorising the Cross Border procedure, then you must initiate the Cross Border procedure with the authority of the country in which you wish to fly.

3. The country being questioned must return an authorization to overfly its airspace.
The operating permit (PDRA) and Article 13 (CERFA form) are sent to the European country where the flight is to take place. The competent authority of the country concerned examines the flight request as if the operator were from their own country. The country verifies whether the request for authorization to use airspace covers specific areas: populated areas, contingency areas, areas with restrictions on drone use, public access areas (ERP), or specific overflight zones. The country verifies that the requested overflight zones comply with European regulations and are not prohibited areas for flying drones, whether professional or not. If all the required conditions are met, the country should be able to issue a valid flight authorization.

Article 13 – Operation outside the state of registration (Valid only for flights outside of specific scenarios or with unclassified drones.)
Here is what Article 13 says:« When an operator of a UAS plans to carry out an operation falling within the "specific" category for which an operating authorization has already been issued in accordance with Article 12 and which is intended to take place partly or entirely in the airspace of a Member State other than that of registration, it shall submit to the competent authority of the Member State in which the operation is envisaged, an application containing the following information: a copy of the authorization issued by the DGAC to the operator, the locations of the planned operation, including updated mitigation measures, if necessary, to address the identified risks, which are specific to the airspace, terrain, population characteristics and climatic conditions of said location(s). »

Here is the link to the Official document of the EU947 drone decree. See article 13 on page 15.

Does the Cross Border drone flight authorization application procedure under the new European drone legislation actually work?

The flight authorization procedure is currently very cumbersome, and many states are reluctant to grant drone flight authorizations within their territory. For example, several major European Union member states have made the Cross Border procedure more difficult by refusing flights due to procedural flaws and/or imposing significant fees on each flight application reviewed.