The first in-person WG FM meeting on drones took place last 22-23 September in Copenhagen, chaired by Florian Cziczatka of Austria; the secretary was Thomas Weber of the European Communications Office (ECO). The aim was to develop the report on the regulatory framework applicable to drones, above all for those categories whose capacity, in terms of altitude, is not above 762 metres. The meeting was attended by 17 participants along with a guest expert from the European Aviation Safety Agency.
After CEPT/ECC/FM produced a questionnaire on spectrum requirements, regulatory framework and applicable legislation in each European administration for drones, there was a need to move forward after consolidating the received responses.
The Portuguese administration has been collaborating actively on this topic, in both the questionnaire launch phase and in the ECC report restructuring phase. To that end, a national contribution was submitted with various schematic proposals for the report and its content.
The structure of the draft report after this meeting is now in line with the national proposals. Highlights include the schematic arrangement of the contents and the addition of content in several sections, especially section 5 (New COMMISSION REGULATION (EU) laying down rules as regards unmanned aircraft operation) and section 7 (Frequency considerations for professional drones).
The next meeting is scheduled for April 2017.
