Category Archives: Regulatory Matters

senseFly Gets First Swiss Approval for Anytime BVLOS Operations

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senseFly has become the first drone operator to be granted anytime Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) authorisation in Switzerland. The country’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) has granted senseFly permission to fly any of its eBee-branded mapping solutions beyond the visual sight of a drone’s operator, using observers, without the need to set-up a flight operation ‘Danger Area’ beforehand. Continue reading

UAE to Charge $14k p.a. Fee for Commercial Operators

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Commercial operators of drones in the UAE have to shell out a fee of $13,624 (AED50,000) per year, according to the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA). Unmanned aerial systems (UAS) operators using drone for non-commercial purpose are charged $1,107 (AED4,063) a year though the operator has to pay $273 (AED1,000) every 90 days.  The fee for UAS training entities has also been set at $13,624 (AED50,000), but for five years.  Continue reading

Time to Build an Australian National Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) System

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The Australian Association of Certified UAV Operators (ACUO) is calling for the Federal Government to launch a program to design, develop and implement a continent-wide unmanned traffic management (UTM) system as the only viable means of achieving the safe integration of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) – called drones by the general public – into national airspace. Continue reading

Restrictions on Use of UAVs in US Antarctic Program

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Due to the potential operational, environmental and safety hazards posed to Antarctic activities by the operation of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), the use of any UAV, drone, or remotely piloted aircraft in Antarctica by U.S. Antarctic Program (USAP) personnel is prohibited without specific authorization from the National Science Foundation (NSF) . Continue reading