Flying a drone near airports in Canada

What the rules say

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

• Distance restriction1852 mConditional
• Aerodrome permissionConditional
• Controlled airspace permissionConditional
• Protected facilitiesConditional
• Digital authorisationConditional
• Altitude relationshipConditional
• ExceptionsConditional

What changes the answer

• location

  Distance below 1 nm

• altitude

  Flight altitude below 400 ft

• location

  Distance below 3 nm

• location

  Distance from aerodrome above 5 nm

• location

  Radius below 1 nm

• location

  Radius below 1.9 km

The rules behind this answer

• Binding lawNational rule

  Acceptance Letter Requirement for Small RPAS BVLOS Operations Near Populated Areas

  An acceptance letter is required for Small RPAS BVLOS operations in uncontrolled airspace conducted over a sparsely populated area or at a distance of less than 1 km from a populated area.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Accessibility of Controlled Airspace Authorization

  A pilot must ensure that the controlled airspace authorization is easily accessible during the operation.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Altitude Accuracy in Controlled Airspace

  The remotely piloted aircraft system must indicate the altitude of the remotely piloted aircraft to the pilot with an accuracy of at least +/- 16 m while operating within controlled airspace.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Altitude Exception in Controlled Airspace

  A pilot may operate a remotely piloted aircraft in controlled airspace at an altitude above the limits specified in section 901.25 if authorized by the air traffic services provider.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Applicability of Controlled Airspace Technical Requirements

  Clarifies that the technical requirements of Standard 922.04 apply to RPAS declarations for operations under CAR 901.69(a) and (d).

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Applicability of Division II (Basic Operations)

  Division II applies to the operation of small remotely piloted aircraft conducting VLOS operations in uncontrolled airspace at a horizontal distance of not less than 100 feet (30 m) from any person not involved in the operation.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Applicability to Medium RPA VLOS in Controlled Airspace

  This Division applies to the operation of a medium remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation in controlled airspace.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Applicability to Medium RPA VLOS in Uncontrolled Airspace (100 to 500 feet from People)

  This Division applies to the operation of a medium remotely piloted aircraft to conduct a VLOS operation in uncontrolled airspace and at a distance of less than 500 feet (152.4 m) but not less than 100 feet (30 m), measured horizontally, from any person not involved in the operation.

  Open the requirementOfficial source

Official sources

• CARs Standard 922 - RPAS Safety Assurance — Department of Justice CanadaOpen
• Canadian Aviation Regulations (SOR/96-433), Part IX - Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems — Department of Justice CanadaOpen

Other drone rules in Canada

• Do I need to register my drone in Canada?Registration in Canada depends on the aircraft and the operation: it applies once the published conditions below are met, each cited to the rule that sets it.
• What is the maximum drone altitude in Canada?Drone flights in Canada are held to a published general height limit of 30.48 m AGL. The limit is not absolute: the published conditions that change it are cited below.
• Can I fly a drone over people in Canada?Flight over uninvolved people is treated as a higher-risk operation in Canada: it is available only where the published conditions below — class, mass, separation or authorisation — are satisfied.
• Is BVLOS drone flight allowed in Canada?BVLOS in Canada runs through a defined authorisation pathway rather than an open permission: the published conditions below set out what that pathway requires.
• When does a drone operation need authorisation in Canada?Whether an operation in Canada needs prior authorisation depends on the operational category, risk class or location: the published triggers below decide it.
• What training do I need to fly a drone in Canada?Remote pilot competency in Canada is triggered by the operation and by a published mass threshold of 0.25 kg. Which training, examination or proof of competency applies is set by the conditions below.

All drone laws in Canada