{"id":11923,"date":"2026-01-24T10:23:51","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T10:23:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/what-is-sora\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T10:23:51","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T10:23:51","slug":"what-is-sora","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/what-is-sora\/","title":{"rendered":"What is SORA?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Where it started and where we are today<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Drones have now moved from the hobby stage to that of a professional tool. They are used in infrastructure projects, energy, agriculture, film production, inspection, mapping, civil protection missions, but as recent War Operations have taught us &amp; in Wars.<br \/>\nBut as the professional applications increase, so does the need for <strong>safe, organized and legal operation.<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>This is where <strong>SORA<\/strong> appears.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What is SORA.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>SORA (Specific Operations Risk Assessment)<\/strong> is a <strong>structured risk assessment procedure<\/strong> for drone flights <strong>not covered by the simple<\/strong> Open Category <strong>rules<\/strong> of A1-A3\/A2.<\/p>\n<p>SORA is the way in which a company proves to the <strong>Civil Aviation Authority<\/strong> that it can fly drones <strong>safely<\/strong>, even in the most demanding scenarios.<\/p>\n<p>It&#8217;s a whole book, examining:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>where the drone will fly<\/li>\n<li>what&#8217;s on the ground and in the air<\/li>\n<li>what risks there are<\/li>\n<li>what measures are being taken to reduce<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>SORA&#8217;s goal is to make flying <strong>possible &amp; <u>safe<\/u><\/strong><u>.<\/u><\/p>\n<p><strong>Why SORA was created<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>In the early years of drones, regulations were limited and often unclear.<br \/>\nBut as:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>increased the number of drones<\/li>\n<li>started flying into cities<\/li>\n<li>were used for commercial purposesit became clear that <strong>a common European framework<\/strong> was needed.\n<p>Thus, <strong>EASA (European Aviation Safety Agency)<\/strong> adopted <strong>SORA<\/strong> as the basic methodology for the <strong>Special Category of Flight<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The simple logic is that not all flights can be treated with the same rules because all flights are different.<br \/>\nA drone in a field, with a drone over a city or critical infrastructure, have a different risk in flight.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How SORA works in practice<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>For the construction you follow a series of steps:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><strong>Understanding the mission<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat exactly does the company want to do with the drone?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Soil risk assessment<\/strong><br \/>\nAre there people, buildings, roads?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Airborne risk assessment<\/strong><br \/>\nAre there other aircraft, air corridors?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Mitigation measures<\/strong><br \/>\nWhat are we doing to reduce the risk?<br \/>\n(procedures, training, equipment)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Final<\/strong><br \/>\nAll recorded and submitted to the <strong>Civil Aviation Authority<\/strong> for approval.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The result is an <strong>Operation Manual based on SORA<\/strong>, tailored <strong>exactly<\/strong> to the activity of the company.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Where we started and where we are today (SORA 2.5)<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The first SORAs were very general and difficult to implement.<br \/>\nOver the years, the methodology has evolved, becoming more practical and closer to the reality of business.<\/p>\n<p>Today we are at <strong>SORA 2.5<\/strong>, which:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>is clearer<\/li>\n<li>more structured<\/li>\n<li>more acceptable to the authorities<\/li>\n<li>and easier to use for professionals.&nbsp;\n<p><strong>SORA 2.5 now allows<\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>more complex missions<\/li>\n<li>stable operating framework<\/li>\n<li>better cooperation with the authorities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This means that <strong>serious drone operators can now operate professionally and legally<\/strong> without uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Why SORA is not a &#8220;simple job&#8221;<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Many people think that SORA is just:<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;a document for the APA to request&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>In fact, it is:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>combination of regulations<\/li>\n<li>flight experience<\/li>\n<li>understanding business needs<\/li>\n<li>and proper communication with the authorities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A mistake or sloppiness can:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>be rejected<\/li>\n<li>be delayed months<\/li>\n<li>or drastically limit the activity of the undertaking<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>This is why <strong>not all schools or all consultants can<\/strong> undertake such projects<strong>.What is the<\/strong> <strong>role of<\/strong> <strong>the<\/strong><strong> Patras Drone Academy<\/strong><strong>?<\/strong> <\/p>\n<p>The <strong>Patras Drone Academy<\/strong> is among the <strong>few schools in Greece<\/strong> that have:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>knowledge of regulations<\/li>\n<li>experience in real operational needs<\/li>\n<li>in-depth understanding of SORA<\/li>\n<li>and the possibility of writing complete Operation Manuals<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It&#8217;s not just about training operators, but about <strong><u>a holistic approach<\/u><\/strong>:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><u>Education<\/u><\/li>\n<li><u>consulting<\/u><\/li>\n<li><u>operational organization<\/u><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Each SORA is treated <strong>separately<\/strong>, depending on the business and its scope.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Conclusion<\/strong>\n<p>SORA is a <strong>tool<\/strong>,a tool that allows drones to operate:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>operate legally<\/li>\n<li>grow<\/li>\n<li>work with serious customers<\/li>\n<li>and build a future in the UAV space<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>As the industry matures, SORA will become <strong>a key part of any serious activity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>And at this level, the <strong><u>proper guidance<\/u><\/strong> makes all the <strong><u>difference.<\/u><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Where it started and where we are today Drones have now moved from the hobby stage to that of a professional tool. They are used in infrastructure projects, energy, agriculture, film production, inspection, mapping, civil protection missions, but as recent War Operations have taught us &amp; in Wars. But as the professional applications increase, so [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11921,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11923","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11923","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11923"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11923\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11921"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11923"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11923"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/patrasdroneacademy.eu\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11923"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}