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ARTICLE · 10 OCTOBER 2020

Seeing Is Not Always Believing: Update On Drones Flying Beyond Visual Line Of Sight

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP
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Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP

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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability in processes that rely on the interaction of people. As such, 2020 has provided the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)...

CanadaTransport
Auriol Marasco
Auriol Marasco
Jason MacIntyre
Jason MacIntyre
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The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vulnerability in processes that rely on the interaction of people. As such, 2020 has provided the Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) industry with a spotlight to demonstrate its capabilities at providing safe alternatives to traditional delivery, surveillance and inspection services.

As discussed in our January 2019 Blakes Bulletin: Drones: A New Way Forward, at the beginning of 2019, Transport Canada enacted new RPAS regulations relating to the operations of RPAS within visual line of sight (VLOS). While these new regulations were a welcome addition to the industry, they fell short of beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. The federal regulations still require that all BVLOS operations require operators to follow the cumbersome Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) process.

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