No-fly zones for unmanned aircraft

No-fly zones for unmanned aircraft or UAVs and for unmanned aerial systems or UAS were newly regulated in Germany with a drone ordinance in April 2017.

Legal basis

The drone ordinance stipulates that any obstruction or danger, as well as the operation of drones or model airplanes in and over sensitive areas is prohibited.

These areas are:

• Locations of police and rescue workers
• Crowds especially at events (more than 24 people)
• Main routes such as motorways
• Arrival and departure areas of airports
• Airfield control zones
• Industrial plants
• Residential properties (not complete residential areas) without the consent of the owner or tenant
• Nature reserves (according to § 23 Abs. 1 BNatSchG)
• National parks (according to § 24 BNatSchG)
• Bird sanctuaries (according to Section 7 Paragraph 1 No. 7 BNatSchG)
• Hospitals
• State institutions such as B .:
  • Properties owned by the police , fire brigade or other authorities and organizations with security tasks
  • Correctional facilities
  • Military installations and mobile troops of the Bundeswehr
  • Constitutional bodies , upper and supreme state and federal authorities
  • Diplomatic missions or international organizations within the meaning of international law

Duty to evade: Unmanned aviation systems and model aircraft are obliged to avoid manned aircraft and unmanned free balloons. The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure has published a brochure for this.

Furthermore, § 21b Paragraph 1 of the Air Traffic Regulations applies : "The operation of unmanned aviation systems and model aircraft is prohibited unless it is carried out by a body named in § 21a Paragraph 2 or under their supervision" (i.e. authorities and organizations with security tasks in connection with emergencies, accidents and disasters).

Maps with drawn-in no-fly zones for UAVs

Maps specially created and maintained for Germany with no-fly zones for UAV and UAS can be found at:

• German Air Traffic Control
• Dronemaps
• Kopter professional app

Worldwide maps including Germany can be found at:

• http://dronemaps24.net/
• http://maps.openaip.net/
• https://www.dji.com/de/flysafe/no-fly

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure: The new drone regulation . Ed .: Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure. 1st edition. Berlin March 2017, p. 2 .
2. ↑ The new drone regulation - an overview of the most important rules , Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (PDF; 440 kB).