Department B5 – Unmanned Aircraft Systems of the German Federal Aviation Office (LBA) provides information about an adjustment in the processing of applications.
In recent years, a very large number of operational authorizations has been issued. Authorization holders have the option to amend their authorization through change requests (e.g., flight areas, procedures, UAS, etc.). This option is used extensively, which means for the LBA that each issued operational authorization is followed by a large number of change requests.
Additionally, the LBA is legally required to monitor issued operational authorizations based on risk. This combination leads to a considerable and continuously growing administrative workload even after authorizations have been granted. At the same time, the number of initial applications for new operational authorizations continues to rise sharply.
Due to this high workload and the limited personnel resources, a significant backlog has developed in processing over the past months.
Applications are generally processed in the order in which they are received. Currently, the estimated waiting time until processing begins is significantly more than six months. This estimate is non-binding and may change depending on future developments.
The actual processing of an application generally only takes a few working days. Change requests are treated in the same order of receipt as initial applications and are subject to the same waiting times.
For questions or technical issues, the responsible LBA department is available via email.
Are you interested in this topic? Check it out!
