From August 12, 2022, some drone flights in Austria will be possible without an official permit from Austro Control for restricted flight areas. In this article we explain which criteria have to be fulfilled.
As we have already compiled in detail in our article Flying a drone in Vienna – what you need to know, in Vienna and other restricted areas within Austria, you can’t get around a costly permit from Austro Control until now. For every drone flight.
However, from tomorrow, August 12, 2022, they make a not insignificant change. This is what the website says:
Please note that as of 12.08.2022, flights with unmanned aerial vehicles weighing less than 250 g and flying at altitudes below 30 m within restricted areas will no longer require a permit.
Austro Control
Eases for drone pilots
For drone pilots, this is extremely welcome news. In many cases, flights with mini drones are sufficient for a variety of tasks. Until now, however, they also required a permit from Austro Control for drone flights in restricted areas. However, this permit costs from 500€ upwards. This often led to the fact that some orders simply could not be implemented due to the costs. Fortunately, this will be different starting tomorrow.
If the drone weighs more than 250g or is flown higher than 30m, there is still a permit requirement for restricted areas! For such flights, please continue to follow our advice from the article linked in the first paragraph.
Further information should of course be obtained directly from Austro Control.
Consider other legal aspects
It is very important to note that this is only about the approval of Austro Control for drone flights in restricted areas. All other regulations, flight restrictions and licensing requirements are unaffected and will continue to exist after 12.08.2022 – even for drones under 250g and 30m flight altitude. The amendment is therefore not a free pass for mini drones.
