Subject matter and scope
1. This Regulation lays down rules and procedures for the safe operations of UAS in the U-space airspace, for the safe integration of UAS into the aviation system and for the provision of U-space services.
2. This Regulation shall apply, within the UAS geographical zones established as U-space airspace by Member States, to:
(a)
operators of UAS;
(b)
U-space service providers;
(c)
providers of common information services.
3. This Regulation shall not apply to operations of UAS conducted:
(a)
in the framework of model aircraft clubs and associations that have received an authorisation in accordance with Article 16 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947;
(b)
in subcategory A1 of the ‘open’ category of operations with an unmanned aircraft that:
(i)
in the case of a privately built UAS, has a maximum take-off mass, including payload, of less than 250 g and a maximum operating speed of less than 19 m/s; or
(ii)
is marked as class C0 and complies with the requirements of that class, as defined in Part 1 of the Annex to Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945; or
(c)
in accordance with SERA.5015 instrument flight rules of Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012.
Definitions
For the purposes of this Regulation, the definitions in Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012, Implementing Regulation (EU) 2017/373, Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945, and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 apply. The following definitions also apply:
(1)
‘U-space airspace’ means a UAS geographical zone designated by Member States, where UAS operations are only allowed to take place with the support of U-space services;
(2)
‘U-space service’ means a service relying on digital services and automation of functions designed to support safe, secure and efficient access to U-space airspace for a large number of UAS;
(3)
‘airspace risk assessment’ means an evaluation of operational, safety and security risks that takes into account the required levels of safety performance as defined in the European Plan for Aviation Safety and the State Safety Programme referred to in Articles 6 and 7 of Regulation (EU) 2018/1139, the type, complexity and density of the traffic, the location, altitudes or heights and the airspace classification;
(4)
‘common information service’ means a service consisting in the dissemination of static and dynamic data to enable the provision of U-space services for the management of traffic of unmanned aircraft;
(5)
‘principal place of business’ means the head office or registered office of a U-space or common information service provider in the Member State within which the principal financial functions and operational control of the service provider are exercised;
(6)
‘dynamic airspace reconfiguration’ means the temporary modification of the U-space airspace in order to accommodate short-term changes in manned traffic demand, by adjusting the geographical limits of that U-space airspace.
