Autoritatea Aeronautică Civilă Romană

Civil unmanned aircraft – UAS operations

Given that unmanned aircraft currently carry out flight activities (UAS operations) in the airspace together with manned aircraft, European / national regulations cover all types of unmanned aircraft, regardless of their operational mass. The technologies used in the construction, equipment and command / control of unmanned aircraft currently make possible a wide range of operations, and those operations are subject to rules commensurate with the associated risks.

In order to implement approaches based on risk assessment and the principle of proportionality, European legislation has provided a degree of flexibility for Member States with regard to the operation of unmanned aircraft, taking into account the different local characteristics of each Member State, while ensuring an adequate level of safety.

European / national legislation on unmanned aircraft also contributes to the enforcement of appropriate rights guaranteed by Union law, in particular the right to privacy and family life, as set out in Article 7 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, and the right to the protection of personal data, as set out in Article 8 of that Charter and Article 16 TFEU and governed by Regulation (EU) No. 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council.

Considering the risks that unmanned aircraft may pose to safety, privacy, the protection of personal data, security or the environment, requirements have been established for the registration of certain categories of unmanned aircraft, and registration of unmanned aircraft operators. This requirement has been met by the establishment of national, harmonized and interoperable national registration systems in which information, including the same basic data on unmanned aircraft and unmanned aircraft operators registered in accordance with the European regulations, is stored. Those national registration systems shall comply with applicable Union law and applicable national law on privacy and the processing of personal data, and the information stored in such registration systems should be easily accessible.

According to the provisions of European legislation, model airplanes are considered unmanned aircraft. In this regard and given that aircraft models have so far had a good safety record, especially those operated by members of model aircraft associations or clubs that have developed specific codes of conduct for such activities, European regulations ensure a smooth transition from the different national systems to the new EU regulatory framework, so that aircraft can continue to operate under the same conditions as at present, but also taking into account existing good practices in some Member States.

Considering the above, starting with December 31, 2020, the European / national normative acts that regulate the field of unmanned aircraft are:

 

No.

Normative act type and code

Normative act title

1.

Regulation (EU) 2018/1139 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 July 2018

on common rules in the field of civil aviation and establishing a European Union Aviation Safety Agency, and amending Regulations (EC) No 2111/2005, (EC) No 1008/2008, (EU) No 996/2010, (EU) No 376/2014 and Directives 2014/30/EU and 2014/53/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Regulations (EC) No 552/2004 and (EC) No 216/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council and Council Regulation (EEC) No 3922/91

2.

Commission delegated regulation (EU) 2019/945 of 12 march 2019

on unmanned aircraft systems and on third-country operators of unmanned aircraft systems

3.

Commission implementing regulation (EU) 2019/947 of 24 may 2019

on the rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft

4.

Regulation (EC) no 785/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004

on insurance requirements for air carriers and aircraft operators

5.

Regulation (EC) no 765/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 July 2008

setting out the requirements for accreditation and market surveillance relating to the marketing of
products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 339/93

6.

Regulation (EC) no 2019/1020 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004

on market surveillance and compliance of products and amending Directive 2004/42/EC and Regulations (EC) No 765/2008 and (EU) No 305/2011

7.

Legea 21 din 18 martie 2020

Codul aerian al României din 2020

8.

Legea nr. 5/06.03.2000

privind aprobarea "Planului de amenajare a teritoriului naţional", Secţiunea III "Zone protejate

9.

Hotărârea Guvernului nr. 912/2010

(document abrogat începând cu data de 18.09.2021) pentru aprobarea procedurii de autorizare a zborurilor în spațiul aerian național, precum și a condițiilor în care decolarea și aterizarea aeronavelor civile se pot efectua și de pe/pe alte terenuri sau suprafeţe de apă decât aerodromurile certificate” 

10.

Hotărârea 859/11 august 2021

pentru aprobarea procedurii de autorizare a zborurilor cu aeronave în spațiul aerian național

- în vigoare începând cu data de 18 septembrie 2021, dată de la care se abrogă Hotărârea Guvernului nr. 912/2021

11.

Hotărârea Guvernului nr. 643/2020

privind stabilirea unor măsuri pentru aplicarea Regulamentului delegat (UE) 2019/945 al Comisiei din 12 martie 2019 privind sistemele de aeronave fără pilot la bord și operatorii de sisteme de aeronave fără pilot la bord din țări terțe și a Regulamentului de punere în aplicare (UE) 2019/947 al Comisiei din 24 mai 2019 privind normele și procedurile de operare a aeronavelor fără pilot la bord

12.

Easy Access Rules for Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Guidance material published by EASA on the application of Regulations (EU) 2019/945 and 2019/947

 

In accordance with the provisions of the Government Decision No. 643/2020, Romanian CAA developed and published the following procedures detailing the implementation of Regulations No. (EU) 2019/945 and No. 2019/947, as follows:

No.

Procedure code 

Procedure title

1.

Procedura-AO-UAS-CAA

Procedură pentru autorizarea de operațiuni UAS în cadrul cluburilor și asociațiilor de aeromodelism, aprobată prin Decizia Directorului General al AACR nr. D558/03.12.2020, ediția 1/2020

2.

Procedura-OPS-UAS

Procedura pentru desfășurarea operațiunilor UAS cu sisteme de aeronave fără pilot la bord, aprobată prin Decizia Directorului General al AACR nr. D584/30.12.2020, ediția 1/2020

3.

Procedura-CPD

Procedura pentru certificarea piloţilor la distanţă, aprobată prin Decizia Directorului General al AACR nr. 583/30.12.2020

4.

Procedura P-SP-UAS

Proceduri administrative referitoare la procesul de supraveghere a pieţei aeronavelor fără pilot la bord (UAS), a seturilor de accesorii şi a dispozitivelor complementare de identificare la distanţă, aprobată prin Decizia Directorului General al AACR nr. 585/30.12.2020

 

Thus, in order to carry out flight activities legally, after December 31, 2020, the following are required:

Nr. crt.

Proces

 

UAS operations in the ”open” category (Art. 4 of Reg. (EU) No. 2019/947)

1.

Online registration of unmanned aircraft operators carrying out activities in the ”open” category

Art. 14 (2) and (5) of Reg. (EU) No. 2019/947

2.

Remote pilot licensing

(additional information here)

Art. 8 (1) and Art. 9 of Reg. (EU) No. 2019/947

CPD Procedure

 

 

 

UAS operations in the ”specific” category (Art. 5 of Reg. (EU) No. 2019/947)

1.

Online identification of unmanned aircraft operators carrying out activities in the ”specific” category

Art. 14 (2) and (5) of Reg. (EU) No. 2019/947

2.

Remote pilot licensing

Art. 8 (2) of Reg. (EU) No. 2019/947

CPD Procedure

3.

Approval of UAS operations

Art. 11 and Art. 12 of Reg. (EU) No. 2019/947

OPS-UAS Procedure

UAS operations in the ”certified” category (Art. 6 of Reg. (EU) No. 2019/947)

 

All UAS operations will be performed in accordance with the provisions of Regulation (EU) No. 2019/947. From the point of view of the authorization of the flight activities, taking into account the normative acts mentioned above, the remote operator / pilot must comply with the following provisions:

  1. Art. 14 of Law 21/2020 on the Air Code regarding the establishment of the take-off / landing point in the case of flight activities with unmanned aircraft;
  2. Art. 13, para. (3) of Law 21/2020 on the Air Code regarding the altitude regime;
  3. Art. 15, para. (2) and (3) of Law 21/2020 on the Air Code regarding the prohibition of flying over densely populated areas / gatherings of people or objectives belonging to structures in the national defense system, public order or national security;
  4. the authorization procedure detailed in the Government Decision No. 859/2021 (for “open” and “specific” flight activities).

 

In airspace areas where flight activities with manned aircraft are prohibited or subject to specific authorizations / approvals, areas already published in AIP Romania, the existing limitations / restrictions are also applicable in the case of flight activities with unmanned aircraft. Full information on these areas is available on the websites: AACR (https://www.caa.ro/ro/pages/drone), AAMN (http://www.aamn.ro in the UAS section), ROMATSA (https://www.romatsa.ro/).

In the case of "open" UAS operations, the operator no longer has a legal obligation to require Romanian CAA to authorize flights below the minimum safety altitude (ZSIS), provided that they take place outside restricted airspace areas. This implicit approval does not apply to "specific" category flight activities.

Last update: 20/03/2024, 07:41:55