With drones becoming increasingly accessible, ensuring safe and compliant operations has never been more important. Today, anyone can buy a drone and fly it, but not everyone is fully aware of the rules that apply where and how they fly. This is where clear communication, repetition, and smart use of technology play a crucial role.
To help bridge the gap between regulation and real-world drone use, the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has collaborated with DJI, one of the largest drone manufacturer by market segment, to support the implementation of geo-awareness across Europe, using official airspace data directly in drone systems that many pilots already rely on.
Making drone rules easier to understand
According to Antonio Gonzalez-Gomez from EASA’s safety promotion team, publishing rules alone is not enough.
“When we issue regulations, the community and users must abide by them. But with drones now available to everyone, it is essential that the rules are explained clearly and in ways people can remember,” he explains.
While many professional drone operators complete the relevant training and obtain a pilot’s licence, many users, particularly hobby pilots, may not. Safety promotion therefore focuses on more than regulation; it is about making information accessible, understandable, feel engaged with (the message talks to them directly) and repeated often enough to become part of normal flying behaviour.
Why geo-awareness matters
One of the key requirements of the European drone regulations is geo-awareness. Before each flight, drone pilots must obtain up-to-date information on airspace restrictions and comply with them during each flight.
Across Europe, National Aviation Authorities (NAAs) publish official UAS Geographical Zones (UGZ) as part of EASA’s framework. These zones show where drone operations are allowed but also restricted, prohibited, or subject to specific conditions (e.g. Prior authorization, specific times, active remote ID, etc.). Regardless of experience level or drone type, all operators are required to consult official UGZ data before flying (even the class C0 class “toy” drones if flow outdoors).
This requirement also applies to drones under 250 grams if they are equipped with sensors such as cameras, speakers, or infrared systems.
From “Fly Safe” maps to official data
DJI introduced its “Fly Safe” system in 2013 as a voluntary safety feature designed to help prevent flights in restricted or sensitive areas. While widely used, earlier versions of the system relied on datasets maintained by DJI themselves.
“In some cases, this meant that temporary restrictions or recent airspace changes were not always up to date,” says Gonzalez-Gomez.
EASA raised this challenge with DJI and encouraged the use of official UGZ data published by National Aviation Authorities instead. DJI was receptive to the feedback and agreed to align its system with authorised sources.
Since January 2026, DJI’s class-labelled drones have relied exclusively on official UGZ data published by NAAs. Previous “Fly Safe” datasets have been removed to avoid confusion and ensure consistency with national regulations.
A practical safety benefit for pilots
Professional and registered drone operators are generally more likely to consult official maps and authorities before a flight. Hobby pilots, on the other hand, may rely more heavily on the information available directly in their drone system.
By integrating up to date and authorised UGZ data into DJI’s geo-awareness tools (or any drone manufacturer who uses these resources for that matter), EASA believes compliance can be improved, particularly among less experienced drone users.
“This is a small step forward,” Gonzalez-Gomez notes, “but it contributes to safer operations and better awareness of the rules. This is a constant challenge where EASA needs to be clear on the “Why” of the promotion we do whilst evolving with our audience. We feel we are better off in this endeavor when we collaborate with any partner who wishes to work with us to improve safety”
Importantly, geo-awareness tools do not replace a pilot’s responsibility. All operators must still check official sources before each flight. However, having reliable information built into commonly used systems provides an additional layer of safety and reinforcement.
Open to collaboration across the industry
EASA stresses that its cooperation with DJI is not a commercial partnership. The agency does not allow companies to financially benefit from such collaborations. Instead, the focus is on integrating safety features and regulatory information into existing products and platforms. Even if this raises a debate in the drone community, including the approach followed in this campaign, EASA welcomes this as an important industry discussion relevant to building this sector together.
“We are always open to collaborations that improve safety,” says Gonzalez-Gomez. “This includes manufacturers, retailers, training providers and more”.
To make real safety count, EASA already works with several companies across all areas of aviation like with Airbus, Boeing and ATR for large airplanes. We do it with Cirrus, Diamond, Elixir and others in General Aviation, plus the same in the helicopter space with Airbus and Leonardo. EASA sees this approach as an important part of safety promotion.
On drones, EASA’s first ever collaboration was with Flying Basket (an Italian drone startup designing and producing heavy-lift cargo drones) on a drone rules trivial pursuit inspired drone game. One upcoming example is a collaboration with Amazon, which contacted EASA about providing safety and regulatory information to customers before purchasing a drone in Europe.
The goal is simple: ensure users are informed about their responsibilities even before they take their first flight.
Turning regulation into everyday practice
As drone use continues to grow across Europe, making rules easier to understand and follow is essential. The collaboration between EASA and DJI shows how regulators and industry can work together to turn complex regulations into practical tools for everyday drone pilots.
Rather than adding new barriers, this approach supports safer flying by meeting pilots where they are. Combining official data, clear communication, and widely used technology to promote responsible drone operations.
The drones part of EASA’ website contains material on Geozones and other drone topics.
https://www.easa.europa.eu/en/light/topics/geo-zones-know-where-fly-your-drone