CASA is changing the way we provide information about where you can legally operate your drone in Australia. CASA will retire its Can I fly there? drone safety app in the coming weeks and replace it with a new digital platform. App developers can apply to connect to the platform which helps facilitate access to standardised safety information.
This means drone flyers will be able to choose from competing approved safety apps, which will all use information supplied by the new digital platform. It is similar to the way you can choose from several weather apps, all of which use the same data from the Bureau of Meteorology.
To connect to the platform, app developers will need to go through a robust approval process that enables CASA to ensure any proposed app delivers accurate information and meets technical requirements. We will regularly update the list of the apps approved to use our platform on our website at www.casa.gov.au/droneapp. The digital platform is being built now and will be available to app developers in the coming months.
The development of the platform is another first step in helping us to integrate drones into Australian airspace safely and efficiently.
Requirements for apps that connect to the platform include showing airspace and emergency data as well as information on powerlines and national parks. It will also help developers integrate with CASA’s future proposed drone registration system, allow licenced operators to submit flight authorisation requests, automate approvals to operate within three nautical miles (about 5 km) of a controlled aerodrome (where safe to do so), and will provide the building blocks for a future RPA traffic management system.
You can continue to use the Can I fly there? app in the interim. It will be removed from the app store after a transition period.
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