Aviation associations call for greater co-operation to ensure safe co-existence of manned and unmanned aircraft

The joint signatories of the ‘We are All One 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 Vălean, on the EASA proposal for a high-level regulatory framework for unmanned aviation operations and UAS traffic management (UTM/U-Space).

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 encourage and support the ambition of the European Union to lead global efforts to develop a proportionate 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. Ultimately it can also facilitate the safe integration of drones in Europe’s skies, ensuring commercial drone services can grow.

The signatories believe that the upcoming U-Space Regulation represents an important first opportunity to achieve this goal worldwide. The lessons learnt from 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. As such, it is crucial that the regulatory framework achieves a number of key principles, as set out in the joint signatories’ letter of November 2019, and ensures the buy-in of the whole industry – manned and unmanned.