EASA Releases Revision 24 of Air Operations Rules With Gyroplane and Flight Data Monitoring Updates

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has published Revision 24 of the Easy Access Rules for Air Operations (EAR for Air OPS), dated March 2026, bringing three regulatory instruments into a consolidated rulebook and rolling out an improved online publication format. The update is available in PDF, machine-readable XML, and a redesigned web version built on the eRules platform. For operators, the most substantive changes touch flight data monitoring program effectiveness and the long-overdue formalization of gyroplane pilot licensing across EU member states.

Three Regulatory Instruments Folded Into Revision 24

Revision 24 consolidates regulatory changes finalized in late 2025. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2025/2293, adopted 10 November 2025, corrects several earlier implementing regulations including the foundational air operations regulation, Regulation (EU) No 965/2012. The correction touches requirements applicable to organizations subject to a declaration and fixes cross-references across six related regulations covering aircrew, airworthiness, aerodromes, and maintenance.

The second instrument, EASA Executive Director Decision 2025/020/R, issued 2 December 2025, amends the Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material (AMC and GM) to Part-ORO (Organization Requirements for Air Operations) and Part-SPA (Special Approvals). It targets the management system framework, the alternative training and qualification programme (ATQP), and the flight data monitoring (FDM) programme, with the stated goal of increasing FDM program effectiveness. FDM requires commercial operators to systematically collect and analyze flight recorder data to identify safety risks before they become incidents. Tightening the guidance here matters — weak FDM implementation has been a recurring finding in European air safety assessments.

The third instrument is ED Decision 2025/023/R, issued 15 December 2025. It amends the AMC and GM to Part-Definitions and Part-NCO to support Commission Implementing Regulations (EU) 2025/133 and (EU) 2025/134. The practical effect is clearer guidance on gyroplane pilot training and a defined framework for non-commercial gyroplane operations under visual flight rules, both by day and by night.

The Online Publication Gets a Meaningful Overhaul

Beyond the regulatory content, EASA has updated how the EAR for Air OPS is delivered online. The new version adds permalinks to the latest version of each rule article, so an external link to a specific provision resolves to current text. The interface now includes improved filters, better search, and responsive layouts for tablets and phones. Anyone who has tried to navigate the previous EASA online rules on a mobile device will appreciate that last point. The XML format makes the full ruleset machine-readable, which lets operators and software developers pipe the rules directly into compliance databases and local applications without manual transcription.

The eRules platform is designed for continuous updates, meaning Revision 24 is not a snapshot that sits unchanged until the next major publication cycle. EASA will push further changes as new regulatory material is finalized.

What This Means for Drone and Advanced Air Mobility Operators

Revision 24 is primarily a crewed-aviation update — gyroplane licensing and FDM programs apply to conventional aircraft operations, not drone flights. But the regulatory machinery matters to the drone world for two reasons. First, the EAR for Air OPS sits above and shapes the operating environment in which BVLOS and urban air mobility frameworks are being built. The management system requirements in Part-ORO are directly relevant to the structures national competent authorities use when evaluating drone operator applications, including those seeking BVLOS approvals of the kind discussed in the U-ELCOME/Eurocontrol U-space Handbook we covered in January 2026. Changes to the AMC/GM for Part-ORO can ripple into that guidance.

Second, the XML-format ruleset and the permalink architecture EASA is now providing make it easier for drone operators and legal teams to track regulatory obligations in real time rather than chasing PDF revisions. That’s a genuine operational improvement. Poland’s recent work on FPV exemptions, covered in our March 2026 report on Open Category rule flexibility, showed how quickly national authorities can move when the underlying EU framework is clearly documented and accessible.

The EU Remote ID framework followed a familiar EASA pattern: regulations adopted, then AMC/GM updated, then national implementation. That same sequence is now playing out for gyroplane rules, and it is the same path EASA is expected to follow as it expands its rules for electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft.

FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford’s Dublin visit in January 2026 to discuss drone delivery alignment with the EU, as DroneXL reported, included discussions about harmonizing operational standards. Coherent, machine-readable EASA rulesets make that transatlantic alignment work considerably less painful for operators holding approvals in both jurisdictions.

DroneXL’s Take

Regulatory housekeeping isn’t glamorous, but Revision 24 is a good example of EASA doing the unglamorous work well. The permalink architecture alone is worth flagging: anyone who has tried to cite a specific EASA rule in a BVLOS application only to find the URL dead or pointing to a superseded version knows how much time that wastes. I’ve hit that problem repeatedly when cross-referencing EU rules for DroneXL coverage going back several years.

The FDM program strengthening in Part-ORO is the item I’d watch most closely. FDM effectiveness requirements that tighten for commercial crewed operators tend to migrate into the standards expected of larger drone operators over time. I expect to see this show up in AMC/GM for the Standard Scenarios (STS) and Predefined Risk Assessment (PDRA) frameworks within 18 to 24 months. Watch the STS-01 and STS-02 guidance documents specifically — those are where updated management system expectations are most likely to land first.

The gyroplane licensing clarification has been needed for years. That category has operated under a patchwork of national exemptions since the EU framework first took shape, with member states applying inconsistent standards for pilot qualification. Bringing it under a consistent EU framework is exactly the kind of regulatory coherence that the drone sector is still waiting for in several of its own categories.

The full EAR for Air OPS Revision 24 is available as a free download from the EASA document library in PDF, online, and XML formats.

DroneXL uses automated tools to support research and source retrieval. All reporting and editorial perspectives are by Haye Kesteloo.