SORA explained: what every drone operator needs to know

Why did the legislator introduce SORA?

In the Specific category, the risks are greater and more variable than in the Open category. Think of:

• BVLOS flights
• Operations over people or in built-up areas
• Flights in and around controlled airspace
• Multiple drones at the same time

This variation calls for a structured risk analysis. SORA provides an objective way to assess what needs to be done to ensure an operation is carried out safely and what the supervisory authority needs from you before you can fly.

How does the SORA process work?

SORA is a step-by-step plan that you follow to determine how great the risk of your operation is and what measures are needed to make that risk acceptable. The methodology uses two types of risk:

• risk on the ground (ground risk) — what is the likelihood that people or infrastructure will be harmed
• air risk — what is the likelihood that your drone will hit an aircraft

SORA combines these risks into a so-called SAIL (Specific Assurance and Integrity Level): a risk level that determines how much evidence and which safety measures you need to demonstrate in order to obtain approval. 

The process is structured into multiple steps, in which you among other things:

1. describe what you intend to do (Concept of Operations / ConOps)
2. determine the ground risk
3. assess the air risk
4. describes mitigations that reduce the risk
5. determines the final SAIL
6. demonstrates that you can meet all associated safety objectives

These steps are in-depth and require an understanding of both operational practice and risk and safety management.

SORA 2.5 – what is new?

In 2025, EASA published a new version of the SORA methodology: SORA 2.5. 

The main changes include:

• a clearer structure for the documentation and requirements
• a division of the process into logical phases to reduce rework
• explicit requirements for documentation such as the Operations Manual and compliance matrix
• concrete guidelines on what you need to submit with an application
• the steps have been combined and logically rearranged (e.g. from 11 to 10 steps)
• improved uniformity and comparability of applications
• more structure around risks in adjacent areas and containment

These adjustments make SORA applications more transparent and help operators better understand what is expected of them — an important step towards greater predictability and harmonisation within Europe. 

When do you need SORA?

Not every Specific category operation automatically requires a full SORA process. Under certain conditions, you can make use of:
– PDRA (Pre-Defined Risk Assessment) — if your operation fits within a predefined scenario
– STS (Standard Scenario) — for standard operational profiles
If your operation falls outside these scenarios, you must carry out a full SORA. 

In short:
as soon as you want to operate outside standard profiles — for example because you want to fly in CTR areas, close to people, near critical infrastructure or BVLOS — you must show that you know and control the risks. SORA is the framework for this.