In order to tap into the full economic, ecological, and social potential of unmanned aviation, a number of regulatory hurdles still need to be removed. In Germany, the provisions of Section 21h of the Air Traffic Regulations (Geographical Areas) in particular impose some serious restrictions on the possibilities for the sustainable commercial use of UAS in BVLOS operations.
In the interests of an internationally competitive UAS/AAM industry, adjustments must be made as quickly as possible. UAV DACH therefore supports the idea of exempting UAS operations in the “special” operating category from the provisions of Section 21h of the German Air Traffic Regulations. This could significantly reduce the approval burden for operators and authorities while maintaining the high level of flight safety and would therefore be a meaningful contribution to reducing bureaucracy, as agreed by the German government in its coalition agreement.
The pragmatic approach of limiting the area of responsibility of air traffic control around commercial airports (control zone) outside the airport grounds to an altitude of 100 meters above ground level is, in the opinion of the Association for Unmanned Aviation, a way of quickly facilitating legal UAS operations without compromising flight safety.
The fact that a revision of Section 21h of the German Air Traffic Regulations is possible without compromising the safety of drone operations is also made clear by the specific proposals for changes and adjustments that were recently developed by the expert committees of UAV DACH. During the association's internal comment process, these were further refined by incorporating valuable suggestions and practical experience regarding the restrictive effect of Section 21h LuftVO on commercial UAS operations. The comprehensive document was then forwarded to the responsible department LF19 (Future of Aviation) at the Federal Ministry of Transport.