• UAS Non-EASA operators have until June 25 to adapt to the new requirements, with the exception of the use of UAS airspace and geographical areas, applicable since the entry into force of Royal Decree 517/2024.
• The main objective of this Guide is to provide these operators with the correct regulatory adaptation before the next end of the transitional period.

 

Madrid, 14 April 2025 (AESA)

The entry into force of Royal Decree 517/204 of 4 June, which develops the legal regime for the use of UAS , as well as the recent publication of the AESA Resolution with code GR-D-031, which define two new national standard scenarios specific to non-EASA activities (STS-ES-01NE and STS-ES-02NE), has made it possible to define a national regulatory framework specific to the needs of civil non-EASA activities.

These activities include those operations with customs, police, search and rescue, firefighting, border control, coastal surveillance or similar UAS, under the control and responsibility of a Member State, undertaken by or on behalf of a body vested with public authority (direct activities), which were regulated through Royal Decree 1036/2017, being applicable only in the territory and airspace of Spanish sovereignty to the use of unmanned aircraft.

 

Adaptation to the new regulatory framework

In order to facilitate adaptation to the new regulatory requirements, it was established that operators of non-EASA activities have until 25 June 2025 to be able to adapt their activity to the provisions of Royal Decree 517/2024, except for the use of the airspace and geographical areas of UAS, which is applicable to them since its entry into force.

Therefore, in view of the approaching deadline for the end of this period, the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) has drawn up the Guide for the adaptation of Royal Decree 1036/2017 to Royal Decree 517/2024 for non-EASA Direct activities, which includes all the aspects and requirements that these operators must take into account for their correct adaptation to the new regulatory framework. It is of vital importance that all non-EASA operators follow this document for an efficient regulatory adaptation and, above all, within the established deadline.

In this Guide, the operator can find the following interactive flowchart to facilitate the understanding of the steps to follow to complete the adaptation to the provisions of Royal Decree 517/2024;

This adaptation includes aspects such as those related to the operator registration procedure, the type of training of remote pilots or the operational conditions and the zoning of the airspace, which must be carried out in full in accordance with the provisions of Royal Decree 517/2024, not being possible the progressive or partial adaptation to the new regulatory requirements.

Pending the full adaptation of the non-EASA activities or services, and until June 25, 2025, the provisions of Royal Decree 1036/2017, of December 15, will apply to these UAS operations.

New national standard scenarios No EASA;

In order to adapt the specific needs to this type of operations, AESA has defined two new national standard scenarios specific to non-EASA operations, STS-ES-01NE and STS-ES-02NE, these being approved through the resolution of the Directorate of AESA with code GR-D-031.

In this Resolution, the characteristics and conditions applicable to these scenarios are defined, such as the operational conditions or the type of training necessary, these being applicable only in the territory and airspace of Spanish sovereignty to the use of unmanned aircraft to which Royal Decree 517/2024 applies, and only when non-EASA activities or services are carried out.

Those operators who wish to carry out operations, both in the STS-ES-01NE scenario and in the STS-ES-02NE, will need to have a general Operations Manual for the specific category, and an annex of all those scenarios, both EASA and Non-EASA, to which the operator uses to carry out its activity with UAS.

To help operators wishing to carry out non-EASA operations for scenarios STS-ES-01NE and STS-ES-02NE, AESA has prepared the models of annexes to the ConOps for both scenarios, which can be found by accessing the following link on the AESA website.

Commitment to the user

If you want to know all the novelties introduced by Royal Decree 517/2024 regarding Non-EASA activities, you can find them summarized in the news Activities No EASA: main novelties introduced by Royal Decree 517/2024