To fly a drone or remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) closer than 30 m (up to 15 m) to other people, you must have:
- a remotely piloted aircraft operator's certificate (ReOC)
- a remote pilot licence (RePL) or employ a remote pilot to operate the RPA.
The requirements
To fly an RPA up to 15 m from other people, you must also:
- only fly an RPA that weighs less than 150 kg
- get consent from the person
- recognise and minimise any safety risks
- document your practices and procedures
- not fly closer than 15 m
- not fly over or above a person at any height.
To help minimise any safety risks, we recommend you equip your RPA with:
- a dual parallel redundant battery system with duplicated battery mountings
- proven ability to fly safely with 1 motor inoperative at the maximum take-off weight for the operation
- GPS hold and return to home function activated with a minimum reception of at least 7 GNSS satellites.
Other mitigations may be also suitable.
To document your practices and procedures, you can either:
- fill out the
- update your operations manual to include the required practices and procedures to align with the
Consent from third parties
Every person not essential to the control and navigation of the RPA within 30 m of it must give consent. Actors, athletes or members of the public being filmed are not essential to the control and navigation of the RPA. You do not need written consent, but it will prove you've operated within the conditions should an incident or accident occur. Companies or other entities can’t give consent for a person.
Contact us
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You can contact us through our online enquiry form.
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