The new EU drone regulation divides flights into different operating categories.<\/a> This means that as of this year, a distinction is made between flights in the categories “open”, “specific” and “certified”. The “open” category covers most (private) flights, for which authorities do not require a separate permit if all requirements are met.<\/p>\n However, the commercial use of UAS<\/span> is growing steadily. As these flights generally fall into the “specific” category, commercial operations are, therefore, flights requiring a permit with a few exceptions. Thus, flights in this category require a flight authorization, which can be applied for in the form of an operating declaration<\/strong>, operational permit<\/strong>, or operator’s certificate<\/strong>. In the last article, we already dealt with the operating declaration<\/a>.<\/p>\n This article is about the application for an operational permit<\/strong>. For this, an operating concept must be prepared, and a risk assessment of the project must be carried out. There are several options for the risk assessment, which we will explain in the following.<\/p>\n<\/div> The Concept of Operations<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Standard Scenarios (STS)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Pre-Defined Risk Assessment (PDRA)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li> Specific Operational Risk Assessment (SORA)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div> Anyone planning a flight in the “specific” category must first describe their operation in detail in the form of an operating concept (also known as ConOps). In the next step, a risk assessment is to be carried out to determine what risk the operating concept entails. Predefined scenarios have been created to reduce the workload for operators and authorities.<\/p>\n The Standard Scenarios (STS) are the lowest-risk flight scenarios with firmly defined specifications, e.g., for flight altitude. The first step should always be to check whether one of the STS applies to the flight. If the project corresponds to one of the STS, a (detailed) risk assessment is not necessary. If this is the case, only an\u00a0<\/span>operating declaration<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0must be submitted, containing the rough operating concept with the prescribed contents according to\u00a0<\/span>Appendix 5 of the Commission Implementing Regulation 2020\/639<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n However, Standard Scenarios are not applicable until December 3, 2023. If Standard Scenarios do not apply, as it is currently the case, an application for <\/span>operational permission<\/span><\/strong>\u00a0must be submitted to the responsible national aviation authority in the form of the elaborated operational concept and a risk assessment as PDRA (Predefined Risk Assessment) or SORA (Specific Operational Risk Assessment). The PDRA represents an extension of the STS with a somewhat higher risk. Therefore, only an abbreviated SORA risk assessment is required.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div> The authority approves drone flights in the category \u201cspecific\u201d in principle based on a concept of operations (abbreviated ConOps or also called operating manual), which is subjected to detailed risk analysis (<\/span>more on this below<\/span><\/a>). According to\u00a0<\/span>Article 11 of the new EU Drone Regulation<\/span><\/a>, all relevant technical and operational details must be provided within a ConOps to apply for a permit.<\/span><\/p>\n The Concept of Operations is a process description that details everything about the flight plan and risk mitigation. Everything from the team to the equipment of the UAS is included. A detailed concept decisively increases the chances of a positive operational authorization. Important: An operational authorization is always applied in the federal state where the person or company is located. A permit is issued by the aviation authority responsible for the federal state (here, you can find a list of the\u00a0<\/span>State Aviation Authorities in Germany<\/span><\/a>).<\/span><\/p>\n For an operational permit, a risk assessment must be carried out, the results of which can, in turn, determine the content of the operational concept. Accordingly, if the risk assessment still identifies potential risks that have not yet been addressed in the operating concept, the concept must be subsequently adapted.<\/p>\n In cooperation with several state aviation authorities, the Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt; LBA) has prepared a detailed template for the creation of a ConOps and a risk assessment. The template including the risk assessment according to SORA is available\u00a0<\/span>here (only in German available)<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n An excerpt from the template as an example of the structure and content of a ConOps (in German:)<\/p>\n<\/div>How to proceed and what you need for an application<\/h2>\n
![\"Procedure](\"https:\/\/www.flynex.io\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Betriebskonzept_Kategorie_Speziell_ENG.png\")
<\/a><\/span><\/div><\/code><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>THE CONCEPT OF OPERATIONS (CONOPS)<\/strong><\/h2>\n
What does a ConOps contain?<\/h3>\n