Maximum drone altitude in Austria

What the rules say

Each line is resolved from published facts of Austria. "Not resolved" means the corpus does not answer it in a machine-checkable way — never that the law is silent.

• General height limit120 mConditional
• Reference datumAGLYes
• Category-specific limitsConditional
• Aerodrome-related limitConditional
• Structure exceptionConditional
• Authorised exceedanceConditional
• Conditional limitsConditional
• ExceptionsConditional

What changes the answer

The published rules distinguish the open category of operation.

• altitude

  Flight altitude at or below 120 m

• altitude

  Flight altitude below 120 m

• altitude

  Flight altitude at or below 15 m

• altitude

  Obstacle height above 105 m

The rules behind this answer

• Binding lawNational rule

  Applicability of Flight Restriction Areas to UAS

  Flight restriction areas (Flugbeschränkungsgebiete) apply to all unmanned aircraft, except those with a maximum take-off mass of less than 250 g flying at a maximum altitude of 30 meters above ground.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Authorization for UAS flights above 120 meters or near borders

  The operation of Class 1 unmanned aircraft at altitudes of 120 meters above ground and higher, or under circumstances where crossing the federal border is expected, requires authorization from the competent authority.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Authorization for UAS flights above 120m or near borders

  The operation of Class 1 unmanned aircraft at altitudes of 120 meters above ground and higher, or under circumstances where crossing the federal border must be expected, requires authorization from the competent authority.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Exemption for Sub-250g Drones in Restricted Areas

  Flight restriction areas must be applied to aircraft, self-propelled aviation equipment and unmanned aircraft, except those with a maximum take-off mass of less than 250 g operated up to a maximum altitude of 30 metres above ground.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Flight Restriction Area Vienna (LO R 15) Authorization

  Operating a drone in the Vienna flight restriction area (LO R 15) requires an authorization from the competent authority and prior ATC approval, unless the drone weighs less than 250 g and is flown at a maximum altitude of 30 meters above ground.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  UAS operation in control zones (CTR)

  Operating a UAS within a control zone (CTR) requires the consent of the responsible air traffic control unit, unless the UAS weighs less than 250 g and is flown at a maximum altitude of 30 meters above ground.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  UAS operations in control zones (CTR)

  Operating a UAS within a control zone (CTR) requires the approval of the responsible air traffic control unit, except for UAS under 250g flying up to 30 meters AGL.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawEU/EASA framework rule

  Article 4 - section overview

  This section establishes the classification requirements for UAS operations in the 'open' category, defining limits on aircraft class, maximum take-off mass, operational distance from people, visual line of sight, maximum altitude, and cargo restrictions, as well as dividing the category into three sub-categories.

  Open the requirementOfficial source

Official sources

• Luftverkehrsregeln 2014 (LVR 2014) Anl. 2 — Anlage 2 (RIS konsolidiert, XML) — Austro Control Österreichische Gesellschaft für Zivilluftfahrt mbHOpen
• Luftverkehrsregeln 2014 (LVR 2014) § 18 — Betrieb von unbemannten Luftfahrzeugen und Flugmodellen (RIS konsolidiert, XML) — Austro Control Österreichische Gesellschaft für Zivilluftfahrt mbHOpen
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945Open

Other drone rules in Austria

• Do I need to register my drone in Austria?Registration in Austria is governed by a published mass threshold of 0.25 kg, alongside the further conditions cited below. Whether it applies to a given flight depends on those conditions, each cited to its rule.
• Can I fly a drone near an airport in Austria?Drone flights near aerodromes in Austria are governed by airspace and aerodrome restrictions: whether permission is needed depends on the airspace, distance or aerodrome type published below.
• When does a drone operation need authorisation in Austria?Whether an operation in Austria needs prior authorisation depends on the operational category, risk class or location: the published triggers below decide it.
• Do I need drone insurance in Austria?Drone insurance in Austria is published with a minimum third-party cover of 20 kg. Whether cover is required for a given flight depends on the published conditions below.

All drone laws in Austria