ENAIRE geographical areas

How to fly in geographical areas controlled by ENAIRE?

General information

UAS flight operations are mainly regulated by Commission Regulation (EU) 2019/947 of 24 May 2019 on the rules and procedures for the operation of unmanned aircraft, and by Royal Decree 517/2024 of 4 June, which sets out the legal framework for the civil use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).

General UAS geographical areas established for operational safety reasons around civil or military aerodromes or heliports (Article 41)

Flights within these geographical areas must be coordinated with the relevant airport operator or ATS service provider, depending on the specific area of activity. To identify the appropriate contact for coordination, use the information provided by ENAIRE Drones and complete your coordination within the indicated timeframe.

Image showing the dimensions of the ZGUAS, Article 41, RD 517/2024. All distances measured from the aerodrome reference point (ARP).

General UAS geographical areas established for operational safety reasons in controlled airspace and flight information zones (FIZ) (Article 42)

UAS operations are permitted in controlled airspace without prior coordination provided that all of the following conditions are met simultaneously:

VLOS
Outside UAS geographical areas established for operational safety reasons around civil or military aerodromes or heliports.
A maximum operating altitude of 60 m AGL

Therefore, within controlled airspace managed by ENAIRE, operations that do not meet any of the above conditions must be coordinated.

If coordination with ENAIRE is required, the strategic and pre-tactical phases must be carried out through ENAIRE Planea.

Requirements to operate in ENAIRE's geographical areas

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REQUIREMENT	OPEN CATEGORY	SPECIFIC CATEGORY	CERTIFIED CATEGORY
AERONAUTICAL LIGHTS*	NO	NO	SÍ
NOTAM	AT ATS DISCRETION	AT ATS DISCRETION	AT ATS DISCRETION
FLIGHT PLAN	NO	AT ATS DISCRETION FOR OPERATIONS > 120M	AT ATS DISCRETION FOR OPERATIONS > 120M
RADIO	AT ATS DISCRETION	AT ATS DISCRETION	AT ATS DISCRETION
TRANSPONDER	NO	AT ATS DISCRETION BVLOS > 120M	AT ATS DISCRETION BVLOS > 120M

*Aviation lights refer to the anti-collision and navigation lights.

Operational coordination procedure

Strategic phase (EARO coordination)

If you are a UAS operator and intend to carry out EASA or non-EASA activities or services in airspace where ENAIRE provides air traffic control services, you must first check the location of the operation, ensure that you comply with the applicable operator registration, remote pilot, operational category, and other zoning permit requirements applicable to your case, and then follow the steps below:

Conduct an Operational Risk Assessment and Mitigation (EARO)

Analyse the risks for the concept of operation (ConOps) you intend to conduct in controlled airspace. We recommend that you first consult the EARO Coordination Guide, which contains a detailed explanation of the process. Below, we offer the following templates, which have been developed jointly with AESA and the other ATSPs, so that you can customise it based on your ConOps and send it, together with your UAS operator certificate:
- Open category (EARO_ABIERTA)
- Specific category under non-EASA national standard scenario STS-ES-01NE (EARO_STS-ES-01NE)
- Specific category under non-EASA national standard scenario STS-ES-02NE (EARO_STS-ES-02NE)
- Specific category under European standard scenario STS-01 (EARO STS-01)
- Specific category under European standard scenario STS-02 (EARO STS-02)
- Specific category under operational authorisation (EARO_AUTORIZACIÓN)
You must complete your EARO by using this catalogue of mitigating measures, including those that correspond to your ConOps.
Access ENAIRE Planea

Go to ENAIRE Planea and send your EARO using the "Safety Form". ENAIRE's Safety Division will contact you through the application to initiate the coordination. Once this process is complete, we will issue the evidence of coordination with ENAIRE so that you can operate in controlled airspace under the conditions specified in your EARO.

IMPORTANT: Your ConOps and the UAS form may require operational authorisation from AESA.

Pre-tactical phase (operational coordination)

Once you have everything required to carry out your operation, submit your UAS coordination request through ENAIRE Planea or the contact indicated on ENAIRE Drones.

Complete the ‘Activity Form’ available in the application, and the Airspace Operations Coordination Department (COOP) will inform you of the conditions and requirements to be met once the operation has been coordinated. Remember that you may also be required to coordinate with other managers of natural spaces, military areas, air bases, private ATS providers, the Ministry of the Interior, etc.

Documents to download

Discover our guide with key recommendations for planning your UAS operations efficiently and easily.

Guide to best practices for UAS operators when using Planea.