India To Collaborate With EU on New Drone, AAM Regulations

An agreement between Indian and European aviation authorities will see the two collaborate on new standards for advanced aviation.

Jack Daleo

Friday, April 21, 2023 at 04:16 PM ET

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An agreement between Indian and European aviation authorities will see the two collaborate on new standards for advanced aviation. [Credit: Shutterstock]

Key Takeaways:

India's Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) have signed a letter of intent to collaborate on drone regulations and unmanned traffic management (UTM).
EASA and the DGCA will work together to develop standards for drones and urban air mobility solutions, with the goal of creating a system similar to EASA's U-Space framework for managing drone traffic.
Current drone regulations in India are stricter than those in the EU, mirroring the FAA's approach in some areas but diverging in others regarding Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights and operations over people.
The collaboration signifies a shift toward a more stringent regulatory approach for drones in India, potentially limiting commercial operations initially, unlike the more lenient, waiver-based approach of the FAA.

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When it comes to regulating drones, the Federal Aviation Administration and the EU’s European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) don’t always agree.

In some areas, like rules surrounding unmanned traffic management (UTM), the two regulatory bodies are quite similar. But they diverge on issues like safety, for example, where the FAA’s hands-off approach clashes with EASA’s more heavy-handed policies.