The introduction of two European Regulations
(Regulations 2019/947 and 2019/945) on unmanned aircraft systems, which
came into force on the 31st of December 2020, brought about a
number of changes to the regulatory framework surrounding the use
of drones.
As discussed in our
article, in order to be fully compliant with these new
regulations, remote pilots operating drones of classes C1-C4, would
be required to complete online training and sit for an online test
following such training. Upon passing such test, the applicant will
be presented with a Remote Pilot Certificate of Competency
(License). Such licenses are renewable every 5 years.
Transport Malta (‘TM') has recently announced that
the Civil Aviation Directorate within TM has issued its first
Remote Pilot Licenses in this regard. The test held by Transport
Malta includes aspects related to health and safety for the drone
operator and for third parties, as well as basic aviation rules and
policies.