Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) permissions, approvals, and exemptions for Remote Operator Certificate holders are a part of normal business. Aviation is a unique industry where approvals and exemptions are the norms and most successful operators will have some form of approval or exemption. In saying that, navigating the requirements for obtaining drone approvals can be challenging. The challenge is in determining where the Remote Operator Certificate capabilities are now and what needs to be done to put forward an adequate safety case to CASA. Drone approval processes start in the hundreds and can run into the hundreds of thousands of dollars so efficiency is key.
Aviassist provides a service to obtain permissions, drone approvals, and exemptions on behalf of companies holding a Remote Operator Certificate. We start with a pre-approval drone safety audit to determine the current robustness of procedures. Then form a series of recommendations and strategies to develop a safety case for drone approval issue. Once the audit is complete and agreed upon, Aviassist will go to work developing the safety case and submit the drone approval to CASA, following through until the drone approval is obtained.
CASA Drone Permissions
Permissions involve operations around aerodromes where the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations specify permission is required. These operations are also precluded by the operational manual suite approved for a Remote Operator Certificate.
- Drone Operations within three nautical miles of a controlled aerodrome
- Drone Operations over the movement area of an aerodrome
- Drone Operations on the departure and approach of an aerodrome
- Drone Operations above 400ft within three nautical miles of an aerodrome
CASA Drone Area Approvals
An Area Approval is where a specific flight area is approved for specific operations as required under the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. These operations are also precluded by the operational manual suite approved for a Remote Operator Certificate.
- Drone Operations above 400ft in controlled or uncontrolled airspace
- Drone Operations conducted Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS)
CASA Drone exemptions
An exemption is where the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations preclude a particular type of operation from taking place. An exemption gives a Remote Operator Certificate holder the ability to work outside of the Civil Aviation Safety Regulations. Exemptions need to be signed by the head of CASA and should not be taken lightly.
