From January 1, penalties for those who violate the rules when flying drones will be tougher. At a minimum, it can be a daily fine and, in more serious cases, imprisonment.
"Of course, there is a difference between intentionally lying in the middle of a passenger plane's flight path or forgetting your drone driver's license," says Edén.
According to Edén, the background is an increasingly congested airspace in terms of traffic.
We can accept a certain level of risk. But the more people who fly, the better safety we need to have to reduce the number of accidents we have, he says.
“Go towards red”
Currently, operator registration is required for anyone who wants to fly a drone – regardless of weight – if the drone has a camera or other sensor. In addition, a drone license is required if the drone weighs more than 250 grams.
At present, there is practically no penalty for those who are careless.
You could compare the drone card to running a red light, if you don't cause an accident today, there will be no fine, says Karl-Axel Edén.
Dark numbers
In Sweden, around 45,000 drone licenses have been issued since 2021. There is no exact updated figure for the number of drones, according to the Swedish Transport Agency. At the end of 2022, the Swedish Armed Forces estimated that there were half a million civilian drones in the country. Many of them weigh less than 250 grams, which means that a drone license or, if the drone lacks a sensor, operator registration is not required.
These new rules apply to all aviation, including traffic that is not drones, says Edén.
Recently, several incidents have been reported where drones have flown over or near protected objects and airports. The tightening of the rules at the turn of the year is not a result of those incidents, according to Edén.
This has been a development that the Government Offices have been working on for a long time.
Anyone who wants to fly a drone in Sweden mainly needs to adhere to two overarching rules.
Operator registration: Applies to both individuals and companies. The drone must weigh at least 250 grams, or be able to transfer over 80 joules of kinetic energy in the event of a collision with a person, or be equipped with a camera, sound recording or other sensor.
Operator registration is also required if the drone belongs to a certain specific category.
Drone license: For drones weighing over 250 grams, a drone license is also required.
In terms of penalties, from January 1, anyone who makes a mistake will risk 30–150 daily fines of 50 kronor or up to a maximum of six months in prison for negligence in air traffic. For gross negligence in air traffic, the maximum penalty is two years in prison.
Source: Swedish Transport Agency
