UAS: Greek law enters into force

On 1.1.2017 entered into force the Greek law on Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), which is the Decision of the Director of the Greek Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) No Δ/ΥΠΑ/21860/1422. The Decision applies to all UAS that fly within Greek airspace or within international airspace, but inside the Flight Information Region (FIR) / Upper Information Region (UIR) of Greece. 

Implementing legislative measures of the Decision are pending, which means that details on the application of its provisions are not yet known.  Furthermore, many provisions of the Decision are based on the Prototype Commission Regulation on Unmanned AircraftOperations published by EASA on 22 August 2016 for consultation purposes. This is an additional hurdle to the implementation of the Decision, since this EASA Prototype Regulation has not entered into force and contains rules on areas that belong to the competence of the EU, such as product safety rules.

I. UAS classification and operational requirements

The Decision distinguishes among three categories of UAS, according to their specifications and the types of operations they will be involved in: Open Category, Specific Category and Certified Category. The CAA classifies the UAS into the appropriate category after examining the application for registration of the UAS. The Decision does not apply to model aircraft. 

1) Open Category

The Open Category comprises UAS with Maximum Take Off Mass (MTOM) up to 25kg, which fly in Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) of their remote pilot and at a distance of less than 500m. They are allowed to fly at a maximum altitude of 400 ft above ground level or above mean sea level.

UAS of the open category may not fly above crowds, unless their pilots have a professional license with endorsement for flights above crowds and they carry extra safety mechanisms, such as parachutes.

If the remote piloting range exceeds 50m, the UAS, its owner, its operator and its remote pilot have to register by electronic means (fax, e-mail) to special registries of the CAA. If the UAS serves commercial purposes or is custom made (not off-the-shelf), a special certificate of airworthiness is required for registration, which can be issued by the CAA. In this case, they must also submit a flight plan before each flight. In addition, operators and remote pilots have to report to the CAA any case of theft or destruction of the UAS, as well as any malfunctions and incidents that caused or could have caused serious injury or death of a person.

UAS of the Open Category are distinguished into three subcategories:

(a) CAT A0 or mini UAS, which comprises UAS with MTOM of less than 1kg.

(b) CAT A1 or very small UAS, which comprises UAS with MTOM between 1kg and less than 4kg.

(c) CAT A2 or small UAS, which comprises UAS with MTOM between 4kg and less than 25kg.

UAS of the A1 and A2 categories have to be equipped with geo-fencing technology and abide by the general product safety rules. The competence to establish such product safety rules belongs to the EU and, so far, no rules have been established. Registration of UAS of these categories requires a special certificate of airworthiness, which can be issued by the CAA.

Furthermore, UAS of the A2 Open Category need to insured against third party liability for aggregate claims of up to € 1.000.000 for personal injuries and up to € 150.000 for property damage. Remote pilots of this category need to have a special license, which is issued upon following conditions:

(a) Recent experience in UAS flights, after successful completion of 4 take-offs and landing in the presence of a certified CAA instructor,

(b) very good knowledge of the Greek language, at the equivalent of a junior high school graduate,

(c) theoretical aviation knowledge certificate

(d) practical examination before a certified instructor.

2) Specific Category

The Specific Category comprises UAS that can entail significant risks for persons below the UAS.

They require an Operation Authorization which is granted after the UAS operator submits to the CAA a risk assessment, an operations manual and proof of insurance coverage.

The risk assessment should contain all risks connected to the flight and the appropriate mitigation measures.

If UAS of the specific category are used for commercial purposes, the Decision foresees registration of the UAS, the operator and the remote pilot in special registries, as well as a special flight permit.

Remote pilots of this category need to have a special license.

3) Certified category

The Certified Category comprises UAS which operate in a manner similar to manned aircraft and, therefore, pose similar risks. Flights of the UAS of the certified category are allowed under strict conditions, similar to the ones in force for manned aircraft. The requirements include a Restricted Type Certificate; a Special Certificate of Airworthiness; registration of the UAS, the owner, the operator and the remote pilot; a Remoted Operations Certificate, a condition of which is the preparation and approval of a Safety Management System; professional training of the remote pilot; surface-collision and aircraft-collision avoidance systems; insurance coverage.

II. Conditions for UAS flights

In general, UAS pilots are responsible for the safe operation of UAS and for maintaining safe distance from persons and property on the surface of the Earth. UAS flights within VLOS must be conducted not farther than 500m from the pilot, from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset. UAS flights with Extended Visual Line of Sight (EVLOS), i.e. flights in which visual contact is maintained either through a camera on the aircraft or with the aid of another physical person (observer), are allowed from half an hour before sunrise until half an hour after sunset, at a maximum distance from the pilot as defined by the FAA case by case.

Remote pilots must provide the CAA with immediate contact data, such as their mobile phone number. Furthermore, they have to report to the CAA any safety-related incidents that caused or could have caused serious injury or death of a person.

To the rest, there are following special conditions.

1) Entry into special UAS registry

If a UAS operates at a distance of more than 50m from the remote pilot, then the UAS specifications together with identification data of the remote pilot, the operator and the owner of the UAS have to be registered with the CAA. Furthermore, a description of the UAS operations should be sent to the CAA, so that the CAA can determine the applicable operational category of the UAS.

2) Operational Capability

For UAS of the Open Category, the manufacturer has to provide a declaration of conformity on the general product safety, in accordance with the EU legislation. Nevertheless, product safety rules for UAS are not in force yet, because they have not been fully developed yet.

 3) Submission of flight plan

A flight plan should be submitted to the CAA before each flight at a distance of more than 50m. from the remote pilot.

4) Permit for airspace use

UAS flights are only allowed in (temporary) segregated airspace, i.e. airspace reserved exclusively or temporarily only for specific users. Such airspace is mainly the airspace below 400 ft, the airspace above 46.000 ft and the airspace defined with special decisions of the Greek CAA. These flights do not require a special permit from the CAA.

A special flight permit in required for flights

- at a distance smaller than 8km from an airport perimeter and from airport take-off and landing tracks,

- in prohibited or restricted areas. Prohibited are the areas in which no aircraft may fly, while restricted are the areas in which flights must be conducted within specific limitations

-above 400 ft,

- within temporary segregated Areas and provided that the UAS uses geo-fencing technologies.

5) UAS pilots

Remote pilots of the Specific and Certified categories, as well as of professional flights of the Open Category, must have a special UAS pilot license. 

Such license is issued mainly upon following conditions:

(a) class 3 Medical Fitness certificate, equivalent to the medical fitness requirements for air traffic controllers,

(b) recent experience in UAS flights, after successful completion of 4 take-offs and landing in the presence of a certified CAA instructor,

(c) very good knowledge of the Greek language, at the equivalent of a junior high school graduate,

(d) sufficient knowledge of the English language, ICAO English proficiency standard levels 4 or higher,

(e) theoretical aviation knowledge certificate

(f) practical examination before a certified instructor

(g) minimum age 18 years.

Remote pilots must provide the CAA with immediate contact data, such as their mobile phone number. Furthermore, they have to report to the CAA any safety-related incidents that caused or could have caused serious injury or death of a person.

6) Insurance coverage

Insurance coverage must be in place for € 1.000.000 regarding personal injuries and € 150.000 regarding property damage. Such duty applies to following flights:

a. all flights of the Specific and Certified Categories,

b. flights of the A2 Open Category and all commercial flights of the Open Category.

7) Special endorsement and incorporation of flight safety technologies for flights above crowds

As a rule, UAS of the open category and UAS used for non-professional purposes may not fly above people and crowds, unless their remote pilots have a professional license with a special endorsement and the aircraft incorporate special safety mechanisms, such as parachutes.

8) Identification and collision avoidance

The registration number of each UAS should be displayed on a plate on board the aircraft or be written with indelible ink on the aircraft.

All UAS should bear means of electronic identification. An active-type Radio Frequency Identification Tag, with a range of at least 800m. should be borne by all UAS.

UAS should be visible to other airspace users through navigation and anti-collision lights. Incorporation of anti-collision technologies, such as sense-and-avoid systems, may also be required.

III. Ground stations

The Decision contains also extensive provisions on the ground stations of the UAS. Ground stations for UAS are the equivalent of the cockpit for manned aircraft. Therefore, the law foresees that ground stations should ensure similar functions and have similar equipment. Among others, ground station design should minimize the possibilities of malfunctions in the control panels of the aircraft and the possibilities of human error on the part of the pilots. They should indicate basic operational parameters of the flight, such as speed and altitude, and warn pilots of possible malfunctions of the aircraft.

You can find the Decision (in Greek) here.