On 29 August 2016, three regulations were issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MoIA) jointly with the Ministry of Defense (MoD), the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), restricting, prohibiting and regulating, respectively, the operation of drones in Venezuela. It was the very first time that the term ‘drone’ appeared in a local legal instrument, so it marked the ‘Big Bang’ of the existence of these flying devices in the national legislation.
It was not until 23 December 2016, however, that drones were effectively incorporated into the national aviation legal framework. On that day, thirteen Venezuelan Aviation Regulations (“RAV´s”) were amended and reissued to regulate their use, registration, classification and operation. The result was a robust and comprehensive body of law not yet seen in other jurisdictions in Latin America, the main points of which are described below.
Classification
RAV 45 classifies drones or remotely piloted aircraft (hereafter referred to as RPAs) into four different classes, namely:
Class 1 – Lighter than 3 Kg.
Class 2 – Between 3 and 25 Kgs.
Class 3 – Between 25 and 150 Kgs.
Class 4 – Heavier than 150 Kgs.
Although the regulation applies equally to all classes of RPAs, more flexibility is sometimes granted to the operation of drones under Class 1 and Class 2. Operation of RPAs under Class 3 and Class 4 is more heavily and carefully regulated.
Use
In Venezuela, the use of drones is divided into two main categories: recreational and commercial. Each one is regulated differently.
Recreational
No authorisation is needed to operate Class 1 or Class 2 RPAs for recreational purposes. However, this is not the case for recreational operation of Class 3 and Class 4 drones, which need a special authorisation from the CAA.
Pilots operating drones for recreational purposes need to be at least 13 years old and must hold a Certificate of Successful Completion of a Course on RPAs from a certified training organisation. They also need to hold a civil liability policy to cover damages caused to third parties as a result of their operation. For the operation of Class 3 or Class 4 RPAs, this insurance policy also needs to be validated before the CAA.
Finally, no licence is required for the recreational operation of Class 1 RPAs. For all other classes, a valid licence is required.
Commercial
Any operator wishing to operate drones commercially in Venezuela needs to go first through a certification process before the CAA in order to be granted with a drone operator certificated or “ROC” (Remote Aircraft Operator Certificate – the equivalent to the AOC (Aircraft Operator Certificate) used in traditional commercial aviation).
The regulation does not distinguish between foreign or national RPA operators. Therefore, the certification procedure is equally open to both unless the CAA provides otherwise.
Although the regulation provides for a certification period of 30 days for operation of Class 1 and Class 2 RPAs, of 90 days for operation of Class 3 and Class 4 RPAs, experience suggests that these timeframes are quite ambitious as they normally take much longer.
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