Drone flying guides and frequently asked questions

Each guide explains a whole subject, with screenshots of the map. If you have a specific question, search for it and go straight to the answer.

Where and when you can fly

The question that brings almost everyone here, and how to answer it for one specific place and time.

Where can I fly my drone?It depends on which category you fly in, and there are three. In the open category you may fly wherever no geographical zone restricts it, within sight and below 120 metres above the ground. In the specific category, where higher-risk operations land, many of those doors open with a declaration or an operational authorisation, including flight beyond visual line of sight; and under an operational authorisation the vertical limit also stops being 120 metres. And the certified category is another league. Something not fitting the open category does not mean it cannot be done: it means it is done another way.Read the answer6 questions
Where can I fly a drone in Spain?Spain applies the European framework and, on top of it, Royal Decree 517/2024, which is what really complicates urban flying. Its articles 38 to 42 set out security zones, essential infrastructure, distances to buildings, aerodromes and controlled airspace, and article 43 the procedure for coordinating with whoever manages them. And there is a figure of its own that catches out anyone with a camera: the zone restricted for photographic flight, where flying is allowed but capturing imagery requires authorisation from the Ministry of Defence.Read the answer7 questions
Where can I fly a drone in Portugal?Portugal applies the same European framework, with operator registration held with the Portuguese ANAC, plus three particularities worth knowing before you cross the border. Around the international airports there are rings that do not forbid but cap the height, at 30, 60 and 80 metres depending on the ring. The environmental authority changes depending on whether you are on the mainland, in Madeira or in the Azores. And capturing imagery from the air can require an aerial survey authorisation from the Autoridade Aeronáutica Nacional, which is a separate file from the flight.Read the answer6 questions
Where can I fly a drone in Germany?Germany applies the same European framework, with operator registration at the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (LBA) through dipul, the official zones portal of the Federal Ministry of Transport. What changes is how the zones work. § 21h of the LuftVO hardly prohibits anything: it says under which conditions flying is permissible, and the most common one is the express consent of someone specific, whether the operator of a facility, the owner of a property or the nature conservation authority.Read the answer6 questions
Where can I fly a drone in France?France applies the same European framework, with operator registration with the DSAC, the Directorate for Civil Aviation Safety, on its AlphaTango portal. What changes is the zones. They are set by a single national rule, the arrêté du 3 décembre 2020 « espace », which keeps the open category away from public space in towns, draws the surroundings of each aerodrome runway by runway, and requires air traffic control agreement from 50 metres upwards in controlled airspace. And there is a registration that Spain, Portugal and Germany do not ask for: that of the aircraft itself, from 800 grams.Read the answer6 questions
Where can I fly a drone in Andorra?Andorra is not part of the European Union or of EASA, so the European drone regulation does not apply there. Its own regulation does: Decret 316/2025, which takes the European rules into account without incorporating them. It resembles the European framework in the basics, with an open, a specific and a certified category, but it differs in what you notice most when flying: the open category has no subcategories, every aircraft is identified to the ministry, and there are thirteen zones where you can only fly with a prior authorisation.Read the answer3 questions
Where can I fly a drone in Switzerland?Switzerland is not in the European Union, but it has applied the EU drone regulation since 2023 under its bilateral air transport agreement. On top of it come its own rules, those of the VLK (SR 748.941): zones where no drone may fly, a distance from aerodromes for drones over 250 g, cantonal rules and mandatory insurance. The authority is FOCA (BAZL), which publishes the zones on an official map.Read the answer3 questions
Where can I fly a drone in Liechtenstein?Liechtenstein applies the EU drone regulation and, on top of it, Swiss aviation law, through an exchange of notes with Switzerland. That is why the same zones, the same insurance and the same official map apply there as in Switzerland. It also has its own prohibited zone in Vaduz, and its authority, the AHR, shares the work with the Swiss office, FOCA (BAZL).Read the answer2 questions
Why doesn't the official map show every zone where I can't fly?Because there are two kinds of zone. Some are published by the authority with their outline drawn: an airport, a restricted area, a temporary zone. Others are defined by the regulation itself through a rule, such as a distance to a type of place or a height above what lies below, and nobody is required to draw them one by one. Those do not always appear on the official viewer, but the pilot is answerable for them all the same. AXPA calculates them by applying the rule to terrain data, and each one says that the outline is ours.Read the answer4 questions
Can I fly my drone here and now?A specific flight is feasible when six checks pass at once: no geographical zone prevents it at that point, the airspace allows it at that height, no temporary notice is in force, your aircraft and category permit those distances and that ceiling, the weather cooperates, and there is daylight or the equipment a night flight requires. One failure is enough for the answer to be no.Read the answer5 questions

What you and your drone need

Registration, training and class marking: what is asked of you before take-off, regardless of the place.

The limits of the flight

Height, distances and restricted environments, with the detail that actually changes the outcome.

The day's conditions

Weather, network coverage and air traffic: what can stop today a flight that was feasible yesterday.

Professional operation

Specific category, SORA and fleet management for those who fly as a business rather than a hobby.

All questions (96)

Where and when you can fly

What you and your drone need

The limits of the flight

The day's conditions

Professional operation

This guide is general information and planning support, not legal advice and not a flight authorisation. Regulations change and every country adds its own conditions. Before taking off, always check the official sources for your jurisdiction and current aeronautical information. The remote pilot in command is solely responsible for the flight.