The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said today that it has published the first rules for safe drone operations in European cities.
The rules balance “the desire to maximise the commercial and convenience benefits of drones against the need to ensure the safety and privacy of citizens and the potential environmental impact on our cities,” EASA said.
The agency added that finding ways to safely integrate drones into city airspace is challenging because that space already is heavily used by other air traffic and because city residents typically are concerned about noise, privacy and the possibility that low-level drone flights could cause accidents and injuries.
“We are already starting to see an increasing number of complex flights undertaken by drones in various experiment across the globe,” EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky said. “Also, as everyone is aware, many companies have commercial a…
