Article 6 UAS operators

OBLIGATIONS WHEN OPERATING IN U-SPACE AIRSPACE

(a)Article 6 covers the obligations for UAS operators when they operate in U-space airspace. Apart from making use of the required U-space services, UAS operators would need to ensure in advance that the UAS intended to be operated comply with the applicable capabilities and performance requirements, as well as with the relevant operational conditions and airspace constraints.

(b)To adequately make use of the U-space services, UAS operators may conclude a contract with an active certified USSP of their choice that provides the required set of U-space services in a given U-space airspace.

(c)UAS operators should submit their UAS flight authorisation request to the USSP and comply with the terms and conditions of the UAS flight authorisation once it is granted by the USSP. Certain conditions need to be met prior to the flight. UAS operators are not allowed to commence a flight until they have sent an activation request of the UAS flight authorisation to the USSP. They should ensure compliance with the terms and conditions associated with the UAS operation in the particular U-space airspace. In case they cannot comply with the UAS flight authorisation, UAS operators should amend their original request.

UAS CAPABILITIES AND PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS UAS operators should select UAS of a type that is appropriate to satisfy the UAS capabilities and performance requirements specified for the U-space airspace. In accepting the ‘terms and conditions’ of the flight authorisation provided by their USSPs, UAS operators confirm that they have selected the appropriate UAS type that satisfies the required Uspace performance requirements.

UAS CAPABILITIES AND PERFORMANCE REQUIREMENTS Depending on the UAS capabilities and performance requirements specified for the U-space airspace, not all UAS types are eligible to be operated. Technical support (e.g. providing technical characteristics of their products) provided by UAS manufacturers may be necessary in the evaluation of the UAS capabilities and performance requirements.

MONITORING OF U-SPACE SERVICES UAS operators should monitor, through a UAS flight, the availability of U-space services, and the information that may affect safety, such as:

(a)changes in the U-space airspace (e.g. dynamic airspace restriction or reconfiguration);

(b)changes to the flight authorisation (e.g. withdrawal, modification);

(c)traffic information, and especially traffic which may represent a collision hazard;

(d)non-conformance, when provided. Accordingly, UAS operators should take appropriate action according to operational procedures and planned contingency measures.

COMPLIANCE OF THE UAS FLIGHT UAS operators should ensure consistency of the UAS configuration with the accepted flight authorisation, and should conduct the UAS flight to stay within the authorised planned 4D volume for 95 % of the time.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF NON-CONFORMANCE When relevant, and as per Article 13(2) of Regulation (EU) 2021/664, UAS operators should acknowledge receipt of the notification that they are non-conforming by using the means provided by their USSPs.

U-SPACE SERVICES — UAS OPERATORS’ INTERFACE When UAS operators intend to develop their own user interface upon the technical means that may be provided by the USSP (e.g. application programming interface (API)), they should ensure that the implementation of the proprietary user interface continues to satisfy the U-space performance requirements to which they contribute. In such case, UAS operators should liaise with their competent authority to ensure that the overall acceptable level of safety (ALS) is not compromised by the complementary development activities. Even if, as per Regulation (EU) 2021/664, UAS operators are not directly subject to certification, they should consider Article 15(1)(a) and (b) of that Regulation and the related AMC and GM for the parts which may affect the safe provision of the required U-space services and information to the operator in charge of controlling or monitoring the UAS.

U-SPACE SERVICES — GUARANTEE AS REGARDS THE LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE It is necessary for the UAS operator to be able to demonstrate that the required level of U-space service performance can be achieved for the entire duration of the flight. This may take the form of a service level agreement (SLA) or any formal arrangement made between a service provider and the applicant on the relevant aspects of the U-space services to be provided (including quality, availability, and responsibilities).

USE OF U-SPACE SERVICES Except for compensating for unavailability or degradation of U-space services, for the purpose of data consistency and the provision of safe support to operations, it is recommended as best practice that UAS operators keep using the bundle of services of the same USSP throughout an activated UAS flight.

CONNECTIVITY The UAS operator should establish a digital connection to the USSP whenever the provision of U-space services is required to support operations in U-space airspace.

MONITORING OF U-SPACE SERVICES While it is assumed that the priority for UAS operators is to ensure the safe conduct of a flight, safety of operations relies on the capability of UAS operators to maintain their situational awareness. The information provided by U-space services is meant to reach an acceptable level of safety within the Uspace airspace, and needs to be adequately integrated throughout the operations. A loss of link with the USSP is a safety issue per se as it disconnects the UAS operator from the U-space airspace, prevents it from maintaining situational awareness and eventually negatively impacts on the necessary decision-making to safely react to events that may dynamically happen. The necessary monitoring procedure (e.g. degree, regularity, etc.) may vary depending on the operational constraints, and the roles and responsibilities of UAS operators (e.g. ‘hands-on’, ‘handsoff’), controls mock-up, etc.). U-space services and information to the operator in charge of controlling or monitoring the UAS.

U-SPACE SERVICES — UAS OPERATORS’ INTERFACE The inadequate implementation of the interfaces with, or the improper use of, the U-space services may impair (e.g. by introducing latencies) the overall performance to an extent which may ultimately compromise the safety of operations within the U-space airspace. It is expected that the user interface that could be privately developed by UAS operators guarantee the satisfaction of the performance requirements defined for the U-space airspace (i.e. do not alter the performance) and the provision of U-space service information, down to the human operator in charge of operating the UAS. Nevertheless, the responsibility of UAS operators is:

(a)limited to the continued satisfaction of the U-space performance requirements to which they contribute, according to the intended system and UAS operators’ user interface implementation;

(b)commensurate with the level of risk that may be introduced locally. The technical assessment could be conducted and completed through the specified activities in order to comply with Regulation (EU) 2019/947.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS UAS operators should handle the operation of the UAS flight as per the operating instructions established for the U-space airspace and provided by the USSP.

EMERGENCY SITUATION UAS operators should use the means at their disposal (e.g. built in the UAS and/or provided by the USSP) to declare an emergency when the UAS flight becomes non-compliant with the applicable Uspace airspace operational conditions or constraints, or facing an event, to an extent which may result in hazards to other operations performed in the U-space airspace.

OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS The operating instructions originate from the operational conditions and airspace constraints specified for the U-space airspace, and further refined and complemented by the procedures elaborated by the other U-space stakeholders (USSPs, ATS providers, etc.).

UAS EMERGENCY STATUS UAS operators may support the alternative proposed in GM1 to Article 8(2)(f) of Regulation (EU) 2021/664 to compensate for the potential lack of automatic transmission of the UAS emergency status.

UAS OPERATORS — SORA AND AIR RISK CLASS Even if operations are intended to be performed in U-space airspace, the specific operations risk assessment (SORA) should still be carried out as per Regulation (EU) 2019/947. Regarding the evaluation of the air risk, UAS operators are entitled to take credit for their SORA of the residual air risk class (ARC) determined through the U-space airspace risk assessment as per AMC1 to Article 3(4) of Regulation (EU) 2021/664. The Member State that designates the U-space airspace may define additional, more demanding performance requirements than the tactical mitigations performance requirements (TMPR), otherwise the U-space airspace performance requirements are less demanding and UAS operators should consider whichever is the most stringent. The UAS operator should demonstrate to the competent authority with sufficient evidence that it fulfils the U-space performance requirements or the required TMPR as per the SORA application, whichever is the most demanding.

UAS OPERATIONS IN RESTRICTED GEOGRAPHICAL ZONES UAS operators may operate in restricted UAS geographical zones (as per Article 15(3) of Regulation (EU) 2019/947) provided they have obtained a specific authorisation. In accepting the ‘terms and conditions’ of the flight authorisation provided by their USSP, UAS operators confirm that they have been authorised to perform operations within restricted UAS geographical zones.

UAS FLIGHT AUTHORISATION The UAS operator should activate the UAS flight authorisation before the take-off, and end it as soon as possible after landing. In case of operations that involve multiple take-offs and landings, the UAS flight authorisation should be activated once before the first take-off, and should be ended only after the last landing.

ACTIVATION OF THE UAS FLIGHT AUTHORISATION The UAS operator is expected to start the operation without undue delay after receiving the activation confirmation from the USSP. Time constraints for the specific airspace used may be established by the Member Sate that designates the U-space airspace.

FLIGHT AUTHORISATION PLANNING AND DEVIATION THRESHOLD UAS operators should plan the UAS flight to stay within a planned 4D volume. Flying outside the planned 4D volume is to be an exceptional event for less than 5 % of the time. The size of the volume should allow for gusts of wind and other likely sources that could cause deviation. When UAS operators do not consider it possible to appropriately perform the flight within the authorised, planned 4D volume, including the deviation threshold, for 95 % of the time (e.g. based on degraded environmental conditions, or operational constraints), they should replan their flight accordingly (e.g. extended boundaries) and request a new UAS flight authorisation.

CONTINGENCY MEASURES AND PROCEDURES UAS operators should describe their contingency measures and procedures within the contractual agreement with the USSPs. In addition, UAS operators should detail for each flight in their flight authorisation requests the planned contingency measures (e.g. alternative routes, emergency landing sites).

CONTINGENCY IN CASE OF DEGRADATION OR A LOSS OF THE USSP SERVICES To prevent risking safety in case of degradation or a loss of the USSP services during the operations, UAS operators should safely end any active UAS flight as soon as possible, except when they have duly demonstrated to their competent authority that the continuation of the operation will not pose a hazard to the other operations performed in the U-space airspace.

CONTINGENCY MEASURES AND PROCEDURES The contingency measures and procedures may be derived from those specified in point (6)(d) of Appendix 5 to the Annex to Regulation (EU) 2019/947. They may also address the following conditions:

(a)sudden, total or partial unavailability of the U-space airspace,

(b)restriction or revocation of the UAS flight authorisation,

(c)unlawful interference,

(d)engine failure,

(e)loss of signal,

(f)loss of control,

(g)loss of payload,

(h)loss of power,

(i)loss of energy reserves,

(j)adverse weather conditions,

(k)foreign object debris (FOD),

(l)unidentified aircraft entering protected volume around the UAS,

(m)unavailability of landing area.

CONTINGENCY IN CASE OF DEGRADATION OR A LOSS OF THE USSP SERVICES UAS operators may evaluate the degradation or the loss of the USSP services in the context of their operations in the U-space airspace and establish appropriate contingency measures against the resulting hazards. A hazard assessment should consider:

(a)the impact and severity of the hazards on own operations;

(b)the impact and severity of the hazards on other nearby operations;

(c)the operational environment;

(d)other additional operational mitigation measures, if applicable. UAS operators should provide USSPs with actions to be taken in the event of a loss or degradation of the U-space services which could result in an overall reduction of safety or pose a risk to nearby Uspace operations, and action would be required to be taken by another UAS operator. These actions may be contained within an operator’s contingency plan. UAS operators should ensure the effective coverage of the contingency measures in case of degradation or loss of USSP services, especially for services used in flight such as:

(e)the inability to receive information on dynamic airspace reconfiguration and/or modifications to the UAS flight authorisation;

(f)a loss of availability of traffic information data;

(g)sharing of contingencies (as applicable).