Drones at aerodromes, including but not limited to so called ‘drones in the box’ are a new technology and despite the availablity of guidance and regulations on drones and their operations, sometimes competent authorities and industry are not sure on how to actually implement specific solutions for use and deployment of drones. This course supports management decisions to apply drones to respond to emergencies at aerodromes more rapidly, with more precision and effectiveness while remaining safe and compliant with applicable rules.

The UAS Emergency Management for Aerodromes – Systems and Operations Training Course addresses the roles of several stakeholders involved in emergency management (i.e. CAA, UAS manufacturer, aerodrome operator, ATSP, Fire Brigade, UAS operator) and includes all regulatory requirements and information on the systems and procedures to deploy drones in an emergency situation with an aircraft at an aerodrome.

EC Regulation 2019/947 does not prohibit drone operations in the open category at aerodromes, this being left to the discretion of EU/EASA Member States, based on Art. 15 (i.e. UAS geozones) of such regulation.

However, for a more flexible response (e.g. BVLOS, highly automated drones) in emergency situations at an aerodrome, operating in the specific category of UAS operations would be more appropriate. The UAS-Emergency Management for Aerodromes – Systems and Operations Training Course therefore addresses:

• System definition, procurement, implementation and regulatory approval.
• Setting up operations, establishing procedures, training and qualifying personnel and then executing operations in coordination among various stakeholders.

The training course includes the latest information from the Project ALBATROS, funded by Horizon Europe through CINEA and coordinated by NLR, which inter-alia explored possibilities for using drones (UAS) in emergencies at aerodromes and specifically with aircraft that in the future, due to advancing technologies, may be affected by a hydrogen leak, which in fact would demand a quicker response.

The Training Course consists of 19 lectures covering:

1. Course introduction and objectives
2. Regulatory Framework and UAS used by Rescue & Fire Fighting Services
3. Selection of small UAS suitable for responding to emergencies at aerodromes
4. Operating Drones at Airports/Aerodromes including UAS geozones (Art. 15 EU 2019/947)
5. Risk-based categories for operating drones at and around aerodromes
6. Authorisation in the Specific Category
7. Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) Operations with Airspace Observer (AO) and qualification of such personnel
8. BVLOS operations without AO and SORA Ground Risk
9. SORA Air Risk
10. Automated and Autonomous Operations
11. Drones in the Box
12. Competency of Remote Pilots
13. Taks and competency of Fleet Manager
14. Monitoring external factors which may affect UAS operations
15. Standard Operating Procedures to mitigate effect of external factors
16. Information security
17. Privacy and data protection
18. Financial liability
19. U-space and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the context of UAS operations

At the end of the course participants should be able to:

• Explain the EU new and global approach for safety of industrial products and its applicability to drones and other aerodrome equipment.
• Appreciate the relationship between stakeholders for interorganisational safety management.
• Explain the roles of different stakeholders at aerodrome for managing emergencies, for managing drone operations, based on the applicable regulatory and standardisation framework.
• Appreciate the relationship between the aerodrome emergency response plan and the possible use of drones.
• Explain the difference between docking system and vertiport.
• Explain the role and the comptency requirements for the Fleet Manager (FM).