First flight of a professional drone in ENAIRE controlled airspace

ENAIRE, the Public Works Department's company responsible for air navigation in Spain, in coordination with the State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), has conducted the first flight of professional drones in controlled airspace.

The filming of several sequences from the film 'Wonder Woman 1984' with drones, on the island of Tenerife, is the first flight of professionally used drones in controlled airspace.

ENAIRE, after carrying out various tests and simulations for remote-controlled unmanned aircraft integration, has overseen the legal procedures needed to authorise AESA to carry out this first drone flight in controlled airspace and in a flight information region. The professional use of this drone flight required a previous safety study with advice from ENAIRE.

Far from the North Tenerife airport environment and outside its restricted aeronautical areas, a drone operator filmed shots in the Anaga Mountains for a sequence of the film 'Wonder Woman 1984' for the American Warner Bros film studios. Always respecting the safety requirements set out in Royal Decree 1036/2017, keeping the aircraft in the pilot's visual line of sight (VLOS) at a maximum 70 metre horizontal distance and at a maximum 20 metre height; flying during the day in visual meteorological conditions for flight, and away from crowds of people or buildings, among other regulations.

ENAIRE, as the entity responsible for aeronautical information in Spain, also issued an aeronautical NOTAM safety warning to inform the rest of the airspace users about the work being carried out in that restricted 500m range.

About ENAIRE

The public corporate entity ENAIRE is a company designated by the Ministry of Public Works to manage the fourth largest airspace in Europe in terms of traffic through 5 control centres, 21 control towers and a network of air traffic infrastructure and equipment. Air traffic operated by ENAIRE amounted to 2 million flights in 2017.