Image provided by AUAV.

Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) has pushed through amendments to its regulations extending certificates for commercial UAV operators.

The aviation regulator has announced the measures as part of a suite of amended regulations designed to support the embattled aviation industry during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Under the new amendment, all certified RPA operators — ReOC certificate holders — as of April 2 will have their certificates extended by six months unless under an enforcement order.

CASA also announced that it was extending specific commencement dates for operators transitioning to the new requirements in the CASR Part 101 MOS.

The new measures were welcomed by president of the Australian Association for Unmanned Systems, Dr. Reece Clothier.

It is great to see quick action from the Government and CASA in support of the drone industry – an important growth sector of Australian aviation,” he said.

In a statement, the AAUS acknowledged that postponement of the MoS compliance deadline may disadvantage training suppliers, but acknowledged that on balance the measures would benefit the majority of industry.

Dr. Clothier called for more strategic measures from CASA to support the industry into the future.

“we need to ensure the drone sector survives what could be a sustained period of disruption – one way is to find new revenue opportunities to allow the industry to better support itself in what will be very challenging economic conditions,” he said.

The AAUS is a conference partner of Rotortech 2020, taking place on 14-16 October at the Royal International Convention Centre in Brisbane.

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