The Sydney expansion comes as CASA and Airservices Australia have agreed to extend the trial for another 12 months.
This means remotely piloted aircraft operator’s certificate (ReOC) holders can continue to use a participating CASA-verified drone safety app to apply to fly within 5.5 km (3 nm) of Adelaide, Canberra, Perth and Sydney Airports.
ReOC holders will also be able to apply to fly in Restricted Areas of Sydney Harbour more easily.
The automated authorisations reduce approval times from weeks to minutes. They allow ReOC holders to secure more business, in new locations, faster – saving time and money.
Automated airspace authorisations were launched in 2021 by CASA in partnership with Airservices Australia.
The system uses historical flight data from crewed aircraft operations to identify locations at the selected trial sites where it’s safe for licensed and certified commercial drone operators to fly.
Since the trial began in 2021, more than 1,275 automated airspace authorisations have been issued in Adelaide, Canberra and Perth.
CASA and Airservices Australia are committed to ensuring safe drone operations in these high-traffic areas, giving all airspace users peace of mind.
Drones with a maximum take-off weight of less than 2 kg will have different regulations from 29 September 2016.
