Following the steps to update the national legislation framework applicable to the field of UAS and to align its provisions with existing legislation and practices in the other EU Member States, as of 18 September 2021 the procedures for UAS flight planning and operation authorization in the national airspace are modified by entry into force of the Government Decision No. 859/2021 for the “approval of the procedure for the authorization of aircraft flights in the national airspace”, as follows:
1. Flight activities are authorized and the UAS pilots / operators have no longer the obligation to inform the Air Operations Center / Ministry of National Defense (COA / MApN) by telephone regarding the conduct of flight activities under the following conditions:
- the flights are conducted outside the airspace areas where the provision of air traffic control services is mandatory (the activities are conducted in class G airspace);
- the UAS is insured against damage to third parties if it has a maximum take-off mass of at least 20 kg;
- the UAS operator / UAS pilot holds the documents necessary for the conduct of flight activities in the categories “open” / “specific” / “certified” under the conditions established by Regulation (EU) No. 947/2019; or
- the flight is conducted in an area of airspace reserved for this purpose by the UAS pilot / operator; or
- the flight is conducted on the basis of an authorization for UAS operations within aeromodelling clubs and associations.
(See Art. 3, paragraph (2), letter a) ÷ g) of the Government Decision No. 859/2021);
- UAS flight activities may also be planned and conducted in airspace areas where the provision of air traffic control services is mandatory provided that the operator / pilot of the aircraft complies with the civil-military procedure for coordinating flight activities with this category of aircraft. The coordination procedure shall be developed by the air traffic control unit and approved by the Romanian CAA and the National Military Aeronautical Authority (AAMN) and subsequently published on the Romanian CAA website.
(See Art. 3, paragraph (5) of the Government Decision No. 859/2021);
- In the case of current airspace areas where unmanned aircraft flight activities are subject to restrictions (areas that are published on the Romanian CAA, AAMN and ROMATSA websites) but also in the case of airspace areas where the provision of air traffic control services is mandatory, the possibility of configuring areas for “open” category flights will be analyzed. The analysis will consider the current situation of the cities of Sibiu, Cluj, Constanța, Iași, etc. where the airspace related to the local airports also includes the airspace of these urban agglomerations.
(See Art. 3, paragraph (6) of the Government Decision No. 859/2021);
- Flights in restricted or reserved airspace areas may be conducted only with the consent of the entity that imposed the reservation / restriction concerned.
(See Art. 5, paragraph (1), letter c) of the Government Decision No. 859/2021);
- The approval by the Ministry of National Defense of the flight activities conducted in the airspace of the city of Bucharest, at flight altitudes lower than 3000 m, is maintained. However, an exception is included in the new normative act, whereby, in case the flight activities are conducted in reserved/restricted airspace areas, the approval by the Ministry of National Defense is no longer necessary.
(See Art. 5, paragraph (1), letter d) of the Government Decision No. 859/2021);
- In the case of flight activities conducted in the “open” category outside restricted areas (see Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 2019/947), the UAS operator / pilot is no longer required to have the approval of the Ministry of National Defense for aerial filming / photography.
(See Art. 5, paragraph (1), letter e) of the Government Decision No. 859/2021);
- The new normative act does not include exceptions regarding the obligation of UAS operators / pilots to hold an authorization in case of flight activities in the national border area (see the provisions of Law No. 243/2002). Thus, in order to plan and conduct flight activities in the area of the state border of Romania, the UAS operator / pilot needs an approval issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs / Border Police.
(See Art. 9 paragraph (5) of the Government Decision No. 859/2021);
As of 18 September 2021, the Government Decision No. 912/2010 (for “approving the procedure for authorizing flights in the national airspace, as well as the conditions under which the take-off and landing of civil aircraft may be performed from / on other lands or water surfaces than certified aerodromes”) is repealed.
A copy of the Government Decision No. 859/2021 is available here.