Welcome to the Prague Airport’s webpage that is devoted to the topic of unmanned aircraft’s, commonly known as drones and their use in the vicinity of the Prague Airport.
Near the airport, the planes’s are in the most critical phases of the flight, which are take-off and landing. To keep a civil aviation safe, it is necessary to regulate the use of drones, as they have become a new participant of air traffic. It is important to keep in mind that, when you are flying drone near the airport, you are in the Controlled Traffic Region.
If you want to fly your drone in the vicinity of the airport safely, just remember to follow these simple rules:
- Do not fly with your drone at a distance of less than 5.5 km from the airport’s aerodrome reference point (50 06 03 N, 014 15 36 E)
– see Figure 1 - When being within the Controlled Traffic Region (CTR LKPR), do not fly your drone more than 100 m above the ground
Figure 1
In order to fly the drone safely, it is necessary to be aware of the division of the airspace. If you do not know what the Controlled Traffic Region is or if you are not sure how the airspace is divided, the following application’s will help you:
- For pre-flight planning
- For the flight
- Fly responsibly (CZ)
If you are not sure with maximum height of your flight or whether you are interfering with Aerodrome obstacle limitation surfaces, watch out not to fly higher then buildings in surrounding area.
Under certain conditions, it is possible to fly the drone at a distance of less than 5.5 km from the airport’s aerodrome reference point or at a height of 100 m above the ground within the Controlled Traffic Region. These conditions are described in detail in a diagram available at the website of Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic.
In the case of a request for permission to fly near the airport under the conditions of PPE (Measures of a general nature issued by the ÚCL on 30.12.2020), you can send your request to zadosti.uas@prg.aero
We usually issue an opinion on your request within three working days.
In case of violation of regulations a fine up to 5,000,000 CZK may be imposed! To report a suspicious drone, please contact Prague Airport’s Security Control Centre at 220 111 000.
Terms
The term “drone” refers to any flying device without a human pilot aboard. In our case, it covers all terms used in legislation, such as unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), unmanned aerial system (UAS) or model aircraft.
When flying a drone, always comply with the following :
Fly safely and obey rules
Fly respectfully, respect the privacy
Fly responsibly and be insured
Legislation
New European rules apply from 31 December 2020, which harmonizes all drone operation rules in all EU member states. New laws apply to all unmanned aircraft systems (drones) including aircraft models.
We also expect the publication of an amendment to the Act on Civil Aviation No. 49/1997 Coll., which to a large extent includes the incorporation of the new regulation of the operation of drones.
Mandatory registration
The most notable change for the aviation public is without a doubt the mandatory registration of drone operators, who can register at https://dron.caa.cz/. The subject of registration is not the drone itself, but its operator. After the operator registers, they receive a drone operator registration number that must be displayed with a sticker on all drones they possess. Besides the operators, all drone remote pilots must register as well. They also must pass mandatory training and to demonstrate acquired knowledge of safe drone operation by passing an online exam.
The registration is not mandatory only for operators of drones that weigh less than 250 g and which
- are not equipped with a camera or another sensor capable of recording personal data
- are toys. This means drones that have already been pre-developed as toys for children under 14 years of age, have been identified by the basic CE marking and which state that they comply with Directive 2009/48 / EC.
Rules of operation
The regulation brings another significant change, and that is a new categorization of drone operation and the rules of drone operations. Specific requirements for individual categories and subcategories of drone operation can be found in respective European regulations – for example Commission Regulations (EU) No 2019/947 and No 2019/945.
The maximum flight altitude of safe drone operation changes to 120 metres. During the drone operation, the pilot must constantly maintain visual contact with the drone, must be aware of the current situation in their surroundings and must ensure safety to themselves, as well as to other persons and assets on the ground.
It is prohibited or restricted to fly the drone in the vicinity of airports, protection zones and other zones now defined as geographical zones. Details of these zones can be found in the following chapters.
All drone pilots must always give way and avoid piloted aircraft operation.
Drone operation classification
European legislation introduces a new approach to drone classification. Instead of their purpose, it focuses primarily on operations risks. Based on this approach, 3 new categories of drone operation have been defined:
- open category (OPEN)
- specific category (SPECIFIC)
- certified category (CERTIFIED)
Open category (OPEN)
This category addresses operations of lowest risks, therefore the drones falling in this category are not required to have prior authorisation from a competent authority or a declaration.
The open category is further subdivided into three subcategories A1, A2, A3 to define specific rules. They specify operational restrictions, requirements for remote pilots and technical requirements for the unmanned aircraft system.
To define specific drone flying rules, you need to know the class of your drone. These are divided into C0, C1, C2, C3, C4.
Obrázek č. 2 
Obrázek č. 3
Tabulky a obrázky jsou převzaty ze stránek ŘLP - https://letejtezodpovedne.cz/legislativa/jak_letame_nyni/kategorizace_provozu?clid=150
Detailed list of flying requirements and parameters in the OPEN category:
| Open category – operational restrictions | |
A1 |
|
A2 |
|
A3 |
|
| UAS classes in the open category: | |||||
parametres | C0 | C1 | C2 | C3 | C4 (models) |
maximum take-off mass | < 250 g | < 900 g nebo < 80 J (kinetic energy) | < 4 kg | < 25 kg a 3 m | < 25 kg |
maximum operating speed | < 19 m/s | < 19 m/s | adjustable < 3 m/s (excl. aircraft) | no | no |
maximum above ground level | < 120 m AGL | < 120 m AGL | < 120 m AGL | < 120 m AGL | no |
propulsion – restrictions | electro < 24 V | electro < 24 V | electro < 48 V | electro < 48 V | no |
follow-me mode | < 50 m | < 50 m | no | no | no |
failsafe system | no | yes | yes (excl. tethered) | yes (excl. tethered) | only preset position, no automatic flight |
tethered drones | no | no | cable < 50 m | cable < 50 m | no |
secured command and control link | no | no | yes (excl. tethered) | yes (excl. tethered) | no |
limited noise level | no | < 85 dB (excl. aircraft) | < 97 dB acc. to MTOM (excl. aircraft) | no, only a mandatory label (excl. aircraft) | no |
serial number | no | yes | yes | yes | no |
identification during flight | no | yes | yes (excl. tethered) | no | |
geo-awareness | no | yes (warns the pilot about restricted areas) | no | ||
low battery indicator | no | yes | yes | yes | no |
lights for steerability and distinguishing | no | yes | yes | yes | no |
user’s manual | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
EASA information leaflet | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Source www.letejtezodpovedne.cz
Specific category (SPECIFIC)
The medium-risk category applies to operators who need to exceed some of the defined limits of the open category. Due to the higher risk of the operation in this category, the operator must have an authorisation from a competent authority issued on the basis on an operations risk analysis, the so-called „SORA“ (Specific Operations Risk Assessment).
The drone operation risk in the specific category may be mitigated if the technical equipment of the drone and pilot’s abilities comply with one of the following documents:
- Standard scenario – STS
- Light UAS operator Certificate – LUC
- Operation authorisation issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (?)
Certified category (CERTIFIED)
The certified category is the category with the highest requirements for drone operators due to the high risk of drone operations. To operate a drone in this category, the unmanned aircraft system, the operator and the unmanned aircraft’s pilot must pass certification.
Geographical zones
The new European legislation also introduces the duty to publish geographical zones. European legislation leaves it to the individual Member States to determine the so-called „geographical zones“. These are areas in which the operation of drones is prohibited or permitted only under specified conditions.
As of 31 December 202, every member state must define and publish these geographical zones.
The description of GEO ZONES defined in the Czech Republic from 31 December 2022 is published on the Civil Aviation Authority website or at letejtezodpovedne.cz.
The rules for operating drones in the vicinity of the airports will be essentially preserved.
A new DronView tool substantially helps to understand, clarify and ensure safe operation of drones in the vicinity of airports.
The tool primarily serves to get familiar with the organization of the airspace of the Czech Republic and to plan flights in areas where unmanned aircraft may be operated.
The tool digitally displays the Protection Zones, which are often unknown to many users and their exact location around airports cannot be easily determined.
The Air Navigation Services of the Czech Republic created a „Grid“ map layer in the vicinity of all 10 controlled airports (surrounded by the CTR area). The Grid layer can be turned on in the DronView by clicking on the top left button. It displays a grid with maximum above-ground levels for every segment (a grid with dimensions of 600 x 900m). If the grids are observed, the Protected Zones in question are not breached.
Links
Air Navigation Services
- Unmanned flights
- FAQ
- Operations near airports
- Aeronautical Information Service
- Aeronautical Information Service – regulations (CZ)
- Aeronautical Information Service – webpage about drones
