Drones and safety

The ease of access to unmanned aerial vehicles in the form of drones or various types of flying models, their technical capabilities, and wide range of applications has translated into their growing popularity in recent years, which poses a major challenge in terms of the safety of not only unmanned aerial vehicle operations, but also manned aircraft operations that use the same airspace. In order to maintain an acceptable level of safety, Lublin Airport S.A. invites you to familiarize yourself with the basic rules for the safe use of unmanned aerial vehicles in Poland. This is extremely important because the conscious use of unmanned aerial vehicles is the basis for ensuring your own safety and that of others.

Anyone interested in learning more about this topic is invited to familiarize themselves with the information campaign launched by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority on the rules for safe flying of unmanned aircraft www.ulc.gov.pl/pl/drony and http://latajzglowa.pl/, as well as the information available on the PAŻP website.

1. For safety reasons, drone flights must take place outside airport control zones (CTR), military airport control zones (MCTR), air traffic zones of uncontrolled civil airports (ATZ), air traffic zones of military airports (MATZ), and danger zones (D).
2. In restricted (R) or prohibited (P) zones, flights with unmanned aircraft are not permitted.
3. Operators of unmanned aircraft and flying models with an MTOM not exceeding 25 kg used exclusively in operations within the operator’s visual line of sight (VLOS) planning flights in airport control zones (CTR) are required to submit a notification to PAŻP/ASM1 at least 3 working days prior to the planned flights in order to determine the feasibility and conditions for performing the flights. The notification must be submitted using the appropriate form available on the PAŻP website.

There is no obligation to report flights in the case of:

• flying more than 6 km from the airport boundary (fence) covered by the CTR zone if the flights are performed with unmanned aircraft and flying models with a take-off weight not exceeding 25 kg and to a height not exceeding 100 m above ground level.
• flying more than 1 km from the airport boundary (fence) covered by the CTR zone if the flights are performed with unmanned aircraft and flying models with a take-off weight not exceeding 0.6 kg and to a height not exceeding 30 m or to the height of the highest obstacle, including trees or buildings, located within a radius of 100 m from the operator.

Flights in the CTR zone that do not meet the above requirements must be reported to PAŻP/ASM1.

When planning flights in areas subject to flight restrictions published in the CTR, notification is required at least 7 days prior to the flights.

1. Flights of unmanned aircraft are permitted in civil and military airport traffic zones (ATZ and MATZ) and in danger zones (D) with the consent or for the purposes of the zone manager.
2. Flights with unmanned aircraft within a radius of up to 5 km from the boundaries of airports/airfields for which no zones have been designated are possible after obtaining permission from the airport/airfield operator.
3. In order to perform flights other than recreational and sports flights, e.g. for the purpose of providing services related to photography or filming, it is necessary to obtain a certificate of qualification issued by the President of the Civil Aviation Authority, undergo aviation medical examinations, and have insurance.
4. Criminal penalties for non-compliance with the above restrictions are specified in the Act of July 3, 2002 – Aviation Law. Violations of the provisions of the Act are punishable by a fine, restriction of liberty, or imprisonment for up to 5 years.
5. All additional information on applicable legal regulations and rules for the safe operation of unmanned aircraft is available on the websites of the Civil Aviation Authority (ULC) and the Polish Air Navigation Services Provider (PAŻP).