Dr. Gerard Dooly:

In European airspace we are all mandated by a common regulation which is derived through EASA regulations. We are harmonised and while the UK follows a lot of the same regulations, it is slightly different. I guess in other countries it is different. With delivery drones, the situation that is occurring with noise decibels has happened in other countries. In Australia there were significant issues with the noise of drones. Operators there were refused planning. They moved location.

In the US, there were issues. They moved location. It is not a new issue that is coming up. It has happened in other non-European countries. The operator employed some of the mitigations after they were refused planning. There was significant backlash from the public. They would have looked at changing out props. They would have looked at adaptive control systems for when they are under way versus when they are hovering. They would have looked at moving flight altitudes when under way up to 85 m, perhaps. This is similar to what is being looked at here. Some of the other issues they would have looked at include vibration reduction on the frame and on some of the motors, as well as engaging with the community, that is, transparency and community engagement. There are various things around public engagement, such as showing people what the noise is at different levels. They also mapped their noise across different levels - not just after reaching a 65 m zone when they are on their way but also at 15 m, where they are actually dropping the goods. There are actions. It is mostly best practice that other operators have done in non-EU countries.