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There are over 90,000 drone pilots registered in Switzerland. Measures are necessary to integrate them safely into Switzerlands civil aviation system and to avoid collisions with other aircraft. It is also important to protect the privacy of the population and to define measures in the areas of spatial planning, climate and noise protection. The Federal Council therefore adopted the postulate report Development and regulation of civil drones in Switzerland at its meeting on December 20, 2024.
Christs postulate 22.4580 instructs the Federal Council to draw up a status report on the development and regulation of civil drones in Switzerland and to show measures on how they can be safely and efficiently integrated into the existing aviation system. The postulate report sets out the federal governments strategy for safe drone operations in Swiss airspace. The Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) is implementing the measures together with other federal offices, the cantons, air traffic control and airspace users. Safely traveling in airspace thanks to U-Space In order to integrate drones safely into the airspace, the report names the introduction of a U-Space airspace in areas with increased air traffic as a key measure. A U-Space airspace consists of a collection of digital and automated services. Drone pilots can exchange information and data with each other and with other airspace users.
The first Swiss U-Space airspace is planned in the Zurich area. Furthermore, the federal government should create a framework by 2030 so that all airspace users are visible. To do this, they must be equipped with modern and internationally compatible position reporting systems in Swiss airspace. Protecting privacy The postulate report explains the measures to protect the privacy of the population. Since 2023, drone pilots have been required to register in an official register. There is a training and testing requirement. Restricted flight zones protect sensitive areas and infrastructure from unauthorized drone operations. In the field of climate and noise protection, the federal government supports the development of noise-optimized drone technologies. In doing so, it takes international standards into account. Todays drone applications do not use specific aviation infrastructure and are not dependent on specific take-off and landing points.
This will change as soon as drones become larger and fly the same route several times, for example to transport people or heavy goods in flying taxis. When the time comes, regulatory adjustments to spatial planning will have to be made for the infrastructure required for this. Drones - more than a toy for children at Christmas There are already over 90,000 registered drone pilots in Switzerland - and the number is rising. Civilian drones are used to rescue people and fawns, protect plants in vineyards, inspect buildings, transport medicines and much more. Accordingly, they have great social and economic potential. In research and development, Swiss universities such as ETH and EPFL as well as start-ups in the fields of drones and robotics are among the world leaders. The postulate report shows the regulatory framework to continue to enable innovations in the drone sector.
