The commercial use of unmanned aircraft in Poland

The provision of commercial services using unmanned aircraft initially requires that the corresponding approvals are obtained. Pursuant to the provisions of the Aviation Law of 03.07.2002, the certificate of competence is a document certifying the possession of certain qualifications and authorising the exercise of certain aviation activities. Certificates of competence are issued to certain categories of aviation personnel, including the operator of an unmanned aircraft not used for recreational or sporting purposes. Another requirement for commercial operation is that the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) must be adequately equipped with the same flight, navigation, and communication equipment as a manned aerial vehicle operating under visual flight rules (VFR) or instrument flight rules (IFR) in a particular airspace class. Deviations from this rule are possible in accordance with the applicable regulations. On the other hand, if unmanned aircraft do not have the above-mentioned equipment, they may only be flown in zones that are separate from the publicly accessible airspace of aviation. Commercial drone flights are subject to a variety of regulations, and every time a drone is used, these regulations should be analysed thoroughly in advance. Commercial drone use is already common practice in the Polish market, e. g., in the film and photo industry as well as in surveying.

Although there are currently no regulations in Poland that directly implement the (new) “U-Space concept”, Poland has a finished instrument (PansaUTM) for managing applications and permits for flying in airspace, whereby the U-Space concept of safe and efficient integration of manned and unmanned aircraft is integrated. It appears that in order to standardise the regulations at national level with the European standards, the provisions of the Aviation Act and/or any regulations must first be properly amended to regulate the remaining assumptions.

Autor: Piotr Wyszumirski