Project description
Regulatory frameworks for integrating unmanned aircraft systems into airport environments
The rapid advancement of unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) has outpaced regulation. This creates challenges for legal systems to manage drone safety and liability in shared airspace. Supported by the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the GUARD-AIR project seeks to bridge this gap by redefining airspace control with regard to liability, sovereignty, counter-UAS security and U-space governance. To achieve this, it will develop clear, standardised guidelines that allow for the safe, secure and efficient operations of drones near airports. This includes supporting the harmonisation of drone regulations across EU Member States to ensure standardised safety procedures, assessing the legal responsibilities of UAS operators, and developing risk-based procedures to manage drone incidents and unauthorised activity.
Objective
Governance for Unmanned Aviation Regulation and Deployment in Airports. As unmanned aviation technologies rapidly evolve, legal systems remain largely reactive, struggling to address the operational, safety, and liability challenges posed by drones in shared airspace. GUARD-AIR proposes a structured, phased model of legal preparedness, focusing on Stage II: the complex coexistence of manned and unmanned air traffic in mixed-use airport environments. The project addresses critical legal questions concerning airport liability, sovereignty, counter-UAS security, U-space governance, and the redefinition of classical aviation concepts. Through a combination of doctrinal legal research, comparative case studies, and empirical fieldwork, GUARD-AIR will produce practical legal models for UAS-ready airports. Hosted by the International Institute of Air and Space Law (IIASL) at Leiden University, and supervised by world-leading scholars in air law, the Fellowship will enable two-way knowledge transfer between academia and regulatory practice. GUARD-AIR also incorporates open science practices, gender and diversity analysis in legal surveillance frameworks, and a wide-reaching dissemination plan. The project directly supports EU strategies such as Drone Strategy 2.0 and U-space Regulation 2021/664. It will generate policy-relevant legal tools for regulators, airport authorities, and civil aviation bodies across Europe, strengthening institutional resilience and legal foresight in the face of unmanned aviation’s rise.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
- social sciences sociology governance
- engineering and technology electrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineering electronic engineering robotics autonomous robots drones
- social sciences social geography transport transport planning air traffic management
- social sciences law
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Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
2311 EZ Leiden
Netherlands
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.