The Unmanned Aircraft Association of Ireland (UAAI) was established more than 10 years ago and have seen incredible innovation in the drone industry since our foundation, we now have over 700 members and our vision has always been to support the establishment of Ireland as an international leader regarding proportionate regulatory governance and integration of drones into industry and society, adopting a progressive approach and with consideration for all stakeholders. We facilitated a meeting last night to engage with the industry and allow positive dialogue to find a solution that works best for all regarding the Cork UGZ. During the discussions, Manna put forward a solution that would facilitate all operators in the same way as they are today. The proposal is as follows:
Amber Zone in the UGZ
- UGZ remains in place but only needs to be coordinated with Manna for any open or specific category operation.
- The operator must have a confirmed Operator Registration as required for the intended ops.
- Email to Manna Ops with coordinates, radius of operations and times. Phone call/email confirmation from Manna ops that the delivery block is in place.
- Operator confirms once operations are finished and delivery postcodes are available to Manna again.
- Priority will always be given to emergency services such as Garda, IRCG, etc., and full coordination procedures will be in place from the outset.
Red Zone
- UF101 form filed as usual through ATC and confirmed by Manna Ops.
- Same process as Blanch and has never been a refusal or inability to give the VLOS operator the priority.
The proposal presented by Manna at the public meeting allows fair and equitable access to airspace for all users and effectively restores the status quo prior to the UGZ. It provides immediate access to the amber zone for hobby and commercial pilots and removes the 48-hour application period introduced under the UGZ procedures. The UF101 process for the Cork red zone remains as it was before the UGZ. The meeting was convened to bring all stakeholders together to identify practical solutions and a constructive way forward in the absence of a fully implemented national U-space framework.
The proposal received support from AirNav Ireland as a balanced approach to ensuring safe and equitable access for all users. Engagement with the IAA is now required for this solution to be approved. Some of the recent public commentary is moving beyond legitimate debate and into scaremongering that risks undermining confidence in lawful, regulated drone operations in Cork. That is neither constructive nor fair to operators or people seeking solutions in an evolving landscape. Debate should remain grounded in facts. For example, in the existing UGZs, there has been no impact on compliant drone operators’ ability to fly under the existing framework. We should stand together as an industry and support each other’s diverse use cases and embrace innovation.
