The Starting Point: Core Definitions
Any discussion of drones begins with the terminology of the law. An aerodrome is defined as a defined area of land or water surface, with buildings and installations, intended wholly or partly for the arrival, movement and departure of aircraft; an airport is an enterprise receiving, servicing, processing and dispatching aircraft, passengers, baggage, cargo or mail, with a terminal and servicing personnel; the law likewise defines the heliport and the aerodrome operator. Knowing these definitions matters because the lawfulness of a drone flight is often determined precisely in relation to these objects and their protection zones — within the aerodrome protection zone established by the agency or the Ministry of Defence, a restriction regime applies, and a flight planned without regard to that regime starts as unlawful.
The law also defines commercial air transportation — a flight performed by an aircraft for the carriage of passengers, baggage, cargo or mail for remuneration or on hire; the operator certificate; authorisation — the authority granted to an operator registered in Georgia for the purposes of high-risk commercial specialised aviation; the declaration — a statement submitted to the agency confirming that a person’s activity complies with Georgian legislation; and inspection — the process of assessing compliance of civil aviation activity with the requirements of legislation and international treaties, conducted by an authorised inspector of the agency. Together these instruments form the legal map without which planning drone operations is flying blind.
Unmanned Systems and Their Operational Frame
The central norm of drone regulation concerns unmanned aircraft systems: an unmanned aircraft system is the totality of unmanned aircraft and the elements associated with their operation, and an unmanned aircraft is a flying apparatus on board of which no pilot is present. The rules for the registration and flight, operation, use and restrictions of these systems are determined by a normative act of the agency — which means that the concrete requirements for drones are detailed at the administrative level and their currency must be verified before every season of operations, because amendments to such acts directly reshape what is permitted.