COLOGNE, May 23, 2025 — The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) has launched the fourth release of its digital space for the exchange of information on drones and electric aircraft, the Innovative Air Mobility (IAM) Hub. The new release focuses on updated EU statistics, EASA Member States (MSs) population density and land use data, GeoZones in EASA MSs, as well as a revised version of the drone database in preparation of the upcoming eSORA functionality. The provision of EU-wide population density data was the top priority identified by stakeholders at the EASA IAM Implementation Forum in October 2024.
The IAM Hub was launched in December 2023 and enables cities, regions, national authorities, operators, and manufacturers that have a role in the introduction of these air taxi and drone services to connect. They can then share and exchange reliable information and data.
This fourth release is part of Phase 2 of the overall programme and contains the following new elements:
- There are now more than two million registered drone operators in Europe. The latest data of the growing drone economy also for your country are available at the IAM Hub drone economy dashboard.
- The protected part of the EASA database of approved drones for EU operations was updated to include all information needed to run the IAM Hub eSORA application. eSORA is currently being tested with EASA Member States (MSs) and the IAM Hub Task Force to facilitate and harmonise operational approvals in EASA MSs. More information about SORA at the Specific Operations Risk Assessment webpage.
- Thanks to the collaboration with Copernicus and the Joint Research Centre (JRC), the IAM Hub now includes population density data as well as land use data for review by the EASA MSs.
- The IAM Hub is hosting ED-318-compliant Geo Zone information from Denmark for testing purposes. The ED-318 technical standard ED-318 has been developed by EUROCAE to define the unique digital format for geographical zones.
- New content has been added to the EASA Drones & Air Mobility public webpage about “Getting started”, “Flying a drone for fun”, and “Flying a drone for work”.
“With the IAM Hub, EASA is providing key digital services to the drone economy and civil society. In the continuous development of the system, we are listening to stakeholders and now delivering on a key priority identified last year. The IAM Hub is a key priority for the Agency and the newly created Innovative Air Mobility Department”, said Rachel Daeschler, EASA Certification Director.
IAM Hub — A valuable resource for implementation at national level
The IAM Hub is designed to help not only the developing drone industry but also the national and regional governments to simplify the IAM implementation.
Oriol Lopez, Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at RigiTech, reinforced this point: “The IAM Hub is evolving to an ever more important tool for the drone industry in the European Union and Switzerland, and the dashboard shows the growing importance of the drone economy in Europe. Harmonised, reliable, and easily accessible population density and land use data are key elements for planning safe drone operations.”
Background
The project is funded by the European Commission and the European Parliament. It is Flagship Action Number 7 of the European Commission Drone Strategy 2.0 to enable a smart and sustainable EU drones market. The current Phase 2 lasts until September 2026.
About European Union Aviation Safety Agency - EASA
The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is the centrepiece of the European Union's strategy for aviation safety. Our mission is to promote and achieve the highest common standards of safety and environmental protection in civil aviation. Based in Cologne, the Agency employs experts and administrators from all over Europe.
For more information, please contact:
Janet Northcote
Head of Communication
European Union Aviation Safety Agency
Email: communications [at] easa.europa.eu
