From 1 January 2023, the EU drone regulations will also apply in Switzerland. This was decided by the Joint Committee of the bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the European Union on air traffic on 24 November 2022. This will end the legal vacuum for drone pilots in Switzerland.
Drones are becoming increasingly popular and their technologies are constantly evolving. This is accompanied by growing uncertainty in the airspace. The EU therefore recognised a few years ago that an ordinance regulating the use of drones was necessary. Although these regulations were already planned to apply in Switzerland at that time, Swiss legislators took their time. The EU drone regulations have now been adopted as of 1 January 2023. This was decided by the Joint Committee of the bilateral agreement between Switzerland and the European Union on air traffic on 24 November 2022. The legal regulations for unmanned aircraft, as drones are also known, can be found in particular in the DETEC Ordinance on Special Category Aircraft (VLK, SR 748.941). Art. 22 VLK then refers to European legislation for regulations concerning unmanned aircraft.
The new legal regulations define safety standards for the manufacture, authorisation and operation of drones. A distinction is made between the three drone categories “open”, “special” and “subject to authorisation”.
Open category
Drones in the “open” category do not require a licence due to their low operating risk, whereby most “leisure drones” are likely to fall under this category. The requirements for this are that the drone is flown by sight, the permitted altitude of 120 metres is not exceeded and the drone does not weigh more than 25 kilograms. If these requirements are not met, the operation of a drone automatically falls from the open to the special category. For example, if the drone is flown over crowds of people, the flying object in question falls into the “special” category.
Accordingly, there is a ban on flying over crowds of people in the open category. According to the definition of the European regulation, the number of people is not the decisive factor in the case of a crowd. Rather, the question of safety takes centre stage. If a drone gets out of control and a single person cannot move away because the people in an area are too close together, this constitutes a crowd. This can be the case in parks or beaches in summer or even on ski slopes in winter.
In addition, the pilot of a drone in the open category must have reached the minimum age of 12 years. If the pilot has not reached the minimum age, the drone may be flown in the presence of an over 16-year-old with the necessary pilot competences.
Irrespective of the authorisation requirement, pilots and operators in the open category must register online on the platform of the Federal Office of Civil Aviation if their drone can either record personal data (using a camera, microphone or other sensors) or weighs over 250 grams. This applies to almost all hobby drones, as most have a camera that can recognise faces and thus capture personal data. Only toy drones that weigh less than 250 grams and do not have a camera do not have to be registered.
If the drone weighs more than 250 grams, pilots must demonstrate the necessary basic knowledge in an online test after they have received sufficient training. The scope and format of the training and test depends on which subcategory (A1, A2, A3) the drone belongs to. These differ according to weight. After the test, a certificate is issued, which is valid for five years and provides for mutual recognition of the respective certificates in the EU and Switzerland. In Switzerland, UAS.gate is the official training and examination platform.
Pilots must now also take out liability insurance of at least CHF 1 million. It must also be checked whether liability insurance policies already taken out include drone insurance claims.
Pilots in the open category have a transitional period of 8 months to complete the necessary registrations, training courses and certificates.
Special category
The minimum age for operation in the special category is 14 years. If the requirements for operation in the open category cannot be met, the operation falls into the special category. For example, if the pilot flies the drone out of sight, if the permitted altitude is exceeded, if the drone weighs more than 25 kilograms or if crowds of people are flown over, the operation falls into the special category. In this case, authorisation from the FOCA is required. There is a transitional period of 8 months. This means that drone pilots have until the end of August 2023 to adapt their operating licence to the new legal basis. Registrations and the necessary certifications must also be carried out in this class.
Category subject to authorisation
This category, which requires authorisation, is intended for high-risk drone operations (e.g. transporting people or dangerous goods). To date, no drones requiring authorisation are operated in Switzerland or the EU. The regulations for this are therefore still in preparation.
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