Drones Are Flying outside of Segregated Airspace in Poland: New Rules for BVLOS UAV Operations

Abstract

Poland was one of the first European countries to adopt a national regulatory framework for the operation of drones. During its first years (2013–2016), the national regulator was more focused on VLOS operations, and BVLOS operations were possible only in segregated airspace. Since 2019, a new law has allowed for certain types of BVLOS operations to be conducted outside of segregated airspace, at very low levels. This paper will analyze how national legislation is dealing with this new technology, focusing on the new law on BVLOS operations. As the national regulation will be replaced in June 2020 by common European rules that have been adopted 2019, this paper also aims to highlight the most important provisions of the EU regulation.