Flying a drone near airports in Croatia

What the rules say

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

• Aerodrome permissionConditional
• Controlled airspace permissionConditional
• Protected facilitiesConditional
• Digital authorisationConditional
• Altitude relationshipYes
• ExceptionsNo

What changes the answer

The published rules distinguish the open category of operation.

The rules behind this answer

• Binding lawNational rule

  Air traffic control coordination for aerial filming

  The aircraft operator participating in aerial filming operations must announce and coordinate the filming operations with the competent air traffic control before the flight.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Airspace Use Request Submission

  Authorized entities must plan airspace activities in advance and submit requests for airspace use and allocation to the Airspace Management Cell (AMC).

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Compliance with ATC Instructions and Approvals

  Operating a flight without the required approvals, contrary to the conditions of those approvals, or failing to comply with instructions from air traffic control is prohibited.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Compliance with aviation regulations for exempt filming operations

  Aerial filming operations exempted under Article 5 paragraphs 1 and 2 must be performed in accordance with regulations governing air traffic.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Prior consent for operations near uncontrolled airports

  Prior consent from the operator of an uncontrolled airport is required to operate a UAS within 1500 meters of the airport edges and 500 meters laterally along the approach path up to 2500 meters from the runway threshold.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  UAS Operations Near Uncontrolled Airports

  Prior consent from the operator of an uncontrolled airport is required for UAS operations within 1500 meters of the airport edges and 500 meters laterally along the approach path up to 2500 meters from the runway threshold.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawEU/EASA framework rule

  In-flight Geographical Zone Compliance

  During the flight, the remote pilot must comply with the operational limitations defined for geographical zones.

  Open the requirementOfficial source

Official sources

• Uredba o snimanju iz zraka (NN 77/2020) — nacionalni režim odobrenja za snimanje iz zraka — Hrvatska agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvo (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency)Open
• Pravilnik o upravljanju zračnim prostorom (NN 20/2023) — UAS zemljopisna područja i postupak integracije — Hrvatska agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvo (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency)Open
• Zakon o zračnom prometu (NN 69/2009) — Članak 76.–79. — aerodromi i posebna odobrenja za objekte od značaja za sigurnost — Hrvatska agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvo (Croatian Civil Aviation Agency)Open
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945Open

Known limitations

• Binding law and official guidance disagree on airport_airspace.altitude_relationship; the binding position is published.
• 1 dimension(s) of this topic are not expressed in a machine-resolvable way by the published corpus and are reported UNKNOWN, never FALSE.

Other drone rules in Croatia

• Do I need to register my drone in Croatia?Registration in Croatia 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.
• When does a drone operation need authorisation in Croatia?Whether an operation in Croatia needs prior authorisation depends on the operational category, risk class or location: the published triggers below decide it.
• Do I need drone insurance in Croatia?Drone insurance in Croatia 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 Croatia