Operation in the specific category is subject to the operational requirements of the Implementing Regulation (EU) 923/2012 (Standardized European Rules of the Air, SERA). However, the provisions of the Annex to the SERA are not fully applicable to the operation of unmanned aircraft. Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 on the rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft is the more specific regulation for the operation of unmanned aircraft.
In some cases, the requirements of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 and the SERA contradict each other. In these cases, the more specific provisions of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 apply to the operation of unmanned aircraft. In other cases, some SERA provisions may not apply to the operation of unmanned aircraft for technical reasons. For example, unmanned aircraft cannot be operated under visual flight rules and only to a very limited extent under instrument flight rules. The operating modes “in direct line of sight” (VLOS) or “beyond visual line of sight” (BVLOS) of the remote pilot are no substitute here and cannot be used as alternatives. Since visual flight rules and instrument flight rules are not applicable accordingly, these SERA regulations, which explicitly refer to them, are not applicable in this form.
To solve this problem, the application of some SERA requirements for UAS operations in the special category was temporarily suspended. This will enable further use cases for unmanned aircraft in the special category, e.g. in control zones (CTR).
Please note the general decree (german only, translation coming soon):