New drone laws in France, but what about Luxembourg?

In France, every person over 14 years of age in wishing to fly a drone needs to pass an exam. Aspiring pilots can take a free government-authorised training course online.

The exam consists of 20 questions and students are allowed to take part as many times as they want to before passing the test.

At the moment, no technical requirements, such as for registration numbers or light and sound signals, are in place.

Professional drone pilots will have to take a practical test and acquire a certificate from the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGAC).

Lawless Luxembourg

In Luxembourg, there are no laws in place that regulate the flying of drones.

The number of privately owned drones is increasing, for larger models as well as for smaller flying objects. So far, no accident has occurred.

To keep it this way, the Direction of Civil Aviation (DAC) would like to be able to compel all drone pilots, be it private or professional, to send in an official request before flying their drones. They noted that professional drone pilots usually already do this. Members of DAC are currently working on regulations for drones.

While piloting drones is largely unregulated in Luxembourg, there are a few exceptions to this. Drones are for example not allowed to be flown in an area of 5 kilometres around airports, aerodromes and helicopter pads, which are often connected to large hospitals.

A few common-sense rules should be respected when flying a drone:

- Fly no higher than 50 metres
- No flying over people, animals, train tracks or motorways
- No filming or taking pictures of people without their permission
- The pilot needs to be able to see his or her drone at all times
- The drone needs to land immediately if a helicopter or aircraft is in the vicinity

As long as it is done responsibly, flying a drone should be a fun activity. Tho make it as safe as possible, pilots are asked to visit the DAC website before their next flight.