Retrospective CE Marking for DJI Drones?
As from the 31st December 2020, the new EASA Drone Regulations will come into force, potentially harmonising drone regulations across the 27 EU Member States but including Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and the UK.
The chanover has potential disruptions for individual operators and companies using existing aircraft. There is common confusion about CE markings, for which existing drones are already compliant, and the new required CE class identification labels, which refer to the class in which a drone can be flown in the Open Category, may hinder operations as usual in the New Year.
This particular issue has been clearly addressed by EASA in reference to article 22 of EU regulation 2019/947, where it is clear that there is a transition period for drones without CE class identification labels to continue to be flown in the Open Limited Category.
Some of DJI’s products are already compliant with applicable EU CE directives, meaning that future production will not require extensive change.
Although current drones on the market cannot simply be retroactively marked, they will be able to go through a process that will verify they are compliant with the new requirements and will transform it legally to a ‘new’ product. DJI are assessing this possibility for existing products. All DJI drones can be used in the “limited” Open Category with certain restrictions until 31st December 2022, and beyond.
More information on how drones without CE class identification labels are able to continue to be flown in the Open Limited Category can be found on the EASA FAQ here.