Rules of the Air

Rules of the air can be described as standards relating to the aeronautical uses of the air space by aircraft in flight or on the movement area of an aerodrome within general air traffic (GAT), for safety and security reasons. Each State has the authority to enact domestic rules of the air applicable to aircraft overflowing the territory under its jurisdiction. However, contracting States to the 1944 Chicago Convention must keep their domestic rules of the air conform, to the greatest possible extent, to those established by ICAO in its Annex 2. Over the high seas, rules of the air included in Annex 2 apply. At the EU level, in 2012 the Commission adopted the Regulation No 923 establishing the Standardised European Rules of the Air (SERA), for consolidating those published by ICAO within its Annex 2, in order to ensure uniformity among the EU member States in this regard. Under the current technological and legal scenario, new issues are arising, such as the rules of the air applicable to unmanned aircraft and the extent of applicability of artificial intelligence in the sector.