Have you ever seen a drone flying at low altitude and worried for your safety and wondered what the law says about drones? Here is what it says.
The commercial use of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), popularly known as drones, is booming Sales of drones for recreational use is also bourgeoning. So, the Spanish government have passed new laws that allows both commercial and recreational sectors of the market greater scope for growth. However, the government has been careful to prioritize the safety of people and property too.
On December 30th, the Royal Decree 1036/2017, which regulates use of drones, came into force. The Decree applies to the flying of drones in areas where people live and work.
The Decree defines the legal requirements for piloting a drone in an urban agglomeration such as a city or a town. It also sets out the rules and regulations for flying a drone over an outdoor event where groups of people congregate such as open-air parties, beaches or weddings.
The legal requirements are as follows: commercial drone flights over urban agglomerations and groups of people is limited to drones with a maximum take-off mass of 10 kilos. Such flights must be authorized by the AESA (State Aviation Safety Agency). Drones may not fly horizontally at more than 100 metres away from the pilot, may not climb higher vertically than 120 metres from the ground and must be flown within a radius of 600 meters. A drone flight area must be approved by the AESA so that it flies through an officially approved airspace. Drones must keep a minimum distance of 150 meters from buildings and 50 meters from people than are not involved in drone flight activity.
When a drone is not being used commercially by a company but for recreational purposes (i.e. for fun) and weighs more than 250 grams, it is illegal to fly it over urban agglomerations or over people who are attending outdoor events such as concerts.
If the drone weighs 250 grams or less, it can be operated outside a controlled airspace, but drone pilots must fly the drone at a distance of at least 8 kilometres from airports, 8 km from runways and 6 km. from airfields. These flights must not exceed 20 meters in height and must be operated during the day and in meteorological conditions which allow for their clear visibility (i.e. not in fog or heavy rain), must always be flown within the visual line of sight of the pilot and must give priority and right of way to the other types of aircraft.
Obviously, all drone activity for fun should not inconvenience other people and it is recommended that the pilot has private insurance to cover recreational drone activities.
Finally, we must not forget that the use of drones to take aerial photos and videos must comply with the rules of General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), and respect honour, personal and family privacy and the right to one’s own image.
Illegal drone flights can be reported to the State Security Forces and to the AESA.
