Guide
Drone rules: what you should know before you take off
by David Lee
National Council brings down new drone regulations
6.10.2020
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
New regulations for flying drones were set to be introduced on 1 January 2021. However, during the autumn session, the National Council passed a motion that seeks to tinker with the law. This brings to light that the original deadline will not be met.
In Switzerland, legal adaptations to regulate private drone flights have been in the pipeline for quite some time. In fact, the new drone regulation should’ve been introduced on 1 July 2020. But the date was postponed by half a year because of the corona crisis.
Now we’re looking at further delays. The reason for this is a motion (in German) pushed by the Federal Assembly’s Transport and Telecommunications Committee. It demands that model aircraft should be exempted from the new regulations. The National Council approved the motion by 93 votes to 79 with 8 abstentions (in German).
The next step is for the committee of the Council of States to assess the motion before handing it over to the Council of States. When this will happen has yet to be seen, but most likely this year. If there are differences with the first chamber of parliament, it will be passed back to the National Council and further delays can be expected.
For the time being, this means that drone pilots can carry on flying under the relatively liberal regulations that apply now.
David Lee
Senior Editor
David.Lee@digitecgalaxus.chMy interest in IT and writing landed me in tech journalism early on (2000). I want to know how we can use technology without being used. Outside of the office, I’m a keen musician who makes up for lacking talent with excessive enthusiasm.
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