60% Illegal Drone Flights: The Stark Reality

Every year, in countries with mature drone regulations—including EU Member States such as Romania—the majority of drone flights operate outside legal bounds.

A study of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) around a major U.S. airport over 30 days in 2019 found that only 7 percent of detected drone flights held proper authorization, meaning 93 percent were non-compliant. While this data is from the U.S., similar enforcement challenges and rapid growth in drone usage apply across the EU.

In Romania, EU Regulation 2019/947 harmonizes drone rules—but enforcement remains a challenge:

• Romania has empowered its military to shoot down unauthorized drones violating national airspace, underscoring how widespread illicit flights have become.

• Anecdotal reports and enforcement actions reveal a surge of unregistered and non-Remote ID-compliant drones operating daily near sensitive sites and airports.

With tens of thousands of unauthorized incursions detected annually by leading counter-drone networks, it is not a matter of “if” but “how often” a drone breach will threaten safety and operations.

When 60 percent of all drone flights in an EU country like Romania are likely illegal, this is not a statistic—it is the everyday reality of unmonitored airspace. It underscores the urgent need for:

• Mandatory Remote ID enforcement

• Real-time detection networks

• Regulatory alignment across civilian and military domains

• Severe penalties to deter non-compliance

60 percent illegal flights = 100 percent unresolved risk.

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