L-R: Pierre Jaeger, Directorate of Civil Aviation; François Bausch, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mobility and Public Works; Credit: MMTP

Luxembourg's Ministry of Mobility and Public Works and the Directorate of Civil Aviation (Direction de l'Aviation Civile - DAC) today presented the new rules for using unmanned aircraft systems (drones) in the Grand Duchy.

Drones, including "commercial" drones, model aircraft and homemade drones (in the European Union) are widely used for leisure and professional applications.

However, piloting a drone can create a number of risks for the safety of air traffic, the safety of people on the ground, the protection of privacy and the safety of certain geographical areas.

In order to ensure the safe use of drones, European regulations on drones came into effect in Luxembourg as of 31 December 2020. The "open" category is exempt from authorisation from the DAC.

The DAC has recalled the following requisites for all "open" category users in Luxembourg:

- registration of drone operators via MyGuichet.lu;
- training and passing exams for piloting drones via EUROCONTROL's TrainingZone;
- consultation of geographic areas via Geoportail.lu.

In addition, the following security measures have been put in place:

- maintaining a minimum distance from aircraft and people;
- compliance with a maximum height of 120 metres;
- permanent visual contact with the drone.