7th AIRlabs Austria expert talk on SAIL III: Exchange at European level
By Yvonne Gerster
29. July 2025
Saving lives from the air: Why SAIL III is the key to medical drone missions
Whether transporting blood samples, medical goods or laboratory samples with high urgency – medical drone missions are considered a prime example of highly complex BVLOS operations over urban areas. Such missions are unthinkable without a SAIL III authorisation: Flying in urban areas requires not only a robust operational concept but also tailored technical and organisational mitigation measures. The path to approval is complex – to date, only a few companies in Europe have taken on and successfully mastered this challenge. SAIL III therefore remains a demanding field that requires a pioneering spirit, close collaboration with authorities and in-depth regulatory expertise.
SAIL III stands for ‘Specific Assurance and Integrity Level’ and relates to drone operations in the SPECIFIC category that involve increased risk. It is based on the SORA process (Specific Operations Risk Assessment), particularly the risk analysis, which assesses ground and airspace risks, among other factors, and determines the SAIL level: The higher this level, the more complex the operation. SAIL III includes, for example, BVLOS flights over urban and densely populated areas and place high demands on operators and authorities due to its particularly complex risk profile. To date, there have only been a few approvals in Europe, as each operation is assessed individually and requires tailored mitigation measures. Once these measures have been implemented, an operational approval is required, which demands comprehensive safety demonstrations.
International best practices: SAIL III authorisations in focus
These challenges, best practices and experiences were the central focus of AIRlabs Austria’s seventh expert talk. In the truest sense of the word, international representatives of the UAS community crossed borders to gather in Vienna and delve into the SAIL III Operational Framework and Practical Implementation. Guests from several European countries followed the invitation and contributed to an intensive exchange of expertise.
Holger Friehmelt opened the event with introductory and forward-looking remarks, emphasising the importance of expert discussions of this kind in an international context. Representatives of the Irish Aviation Authority, then provided fascinating insights into the regulatory approval processes in Ireland. They highlighted key success factors in the application process and shared their practical experience with SAIL III operations from a regulatory perspective.
Among other things, this involved the establishment of a Safety Management System (SMS) in accordance with ICAO Annex 19 – content that can also be found in AMC1 – UAS.LUC.030, albeit in a different structure. Although an SMS is not mandatory for SAIL III in accordance with the proportionality principle, the Irish authority attaches great importance to its implementation – depending on the size and complexity of the organisation.
The presentation sparked numerous questions and inspired a lively and well-informed exchange. The contribution of a representative of Schiebel Elektronische Geräte GmbH was particularly noteworthy: as the holder of Europe’s first and so far only LUC (Light UAS Operator Certificate) in Austria, he shared valuable practical insights from the preparation and approval processes. The LUC certificate is mandatory for SAIL IV operations – a fact that is regulated by OSO#01 HIGH and will remain valid in the upcoming SORA version 2.5. He also described the particular challenge of developing innovative solutions within a clearly defined regulatory framework and thinking outside the box.
Another focus of the expert talk was the presentation by a representative of Morpheus Logistics, a German company specialising in drone-based logistics solutions with extensive experience in SAIL III operations. He described the implementation of such operations from an operator’s perspective, offering valuable practical insights – an important addition to the previously presented regulatory and LUC-based experience reports.
His descriptions of real-world operations made both the challenges and possible solutions tangible and contributed to a lively exchange which even ran over the scheduled time. The great interest and animated discussions underscored the desire to delve even deeper into the topic.
Outlook: Shared responsibility for the future of SAIL III
Kristóf Gombás, Technical Project Manager at AIRlabs Austria, aptly summarised the key message of the day: ‘Although the first approvals for SAIL III operations have already been granted in Europe, this area is still in its infancy. The path to approval remains complex – and committed companies are needed to pave the way together with the authorities.’ It was also noticeable that additional knowledge or training may be required for certain operations, such as the transport of hazardous goods. This should be given greater consideration in future authorisation processes.
In this context, Tom Bruchmann, Technical Project Manager at AIRlabs Austria, once again emphasised the importance of continuous dialogue: ‘It was identified that it is necessary to advance discussions between industry groups and EASA from Austria. In order to grow as an industry and as regulators/authorities, this dialogue is essential.’ This clearly emphasised that Austria must play an active role in helping to shape developments at the European level.
Holger Friehmelt, Technical and Scientific Director of AIRlabs Austria, concluded: ‘This international commitment is fantastic. Such expert discussions are of immense importance – not only for AIRlabs, but for the entire drone industry.’
Special thanks go to all participants for their dedicated contributions and professional exchange – and especially to Austro Control GmbH, whose expertise and organisation made a significant contribution to the success of the event.