BVLOS drone operations in Ireland
Is BVLOS drone flight allowed in Ireland?
No. A published rule in Ireland excludes BVLOS for the operations covered here.
- Authorisation type
- permit
Whether flight beyond visual line of sight is legally available, and by which pathway.
What the rules say
Each line is resolved from published facts of Ireland. "Not resolved" means the corpus does not answer it in a machine-checkable way — never that the law is silent.
- Legally possibleNo
- Authorisation requiredConditional
- Authorisation typepermitYes
- Pilot requirementConditional
- Aircraft requirementConditional
- Risk assessment requiredYes
- Standard scenario availableNot resolved
- Predefined pathway availableNot resolved
- Ground risk controlNot resolved
- Repeat or generic authorisationNot resolved
- Populated area pathwayYes
- Digital applicationNot resolved
- Operational limitationsNo
- ExceptionsConditional
What changes the answer
The published rules distinguish the a1 and open categories of operation.
- location
Distance at or below 50 m
The rules behind this answer
- Binding lawEU/EASA framework rule
Assistance by an Unmanned Aircraft Observer
Remote pilots may be assisted by an unmanned aircraft observer to maintain VLOS, provided clear and effective communication is established between them.
- Binding lawEU/EASA framework rule
Maximum distance in follow-me mode
When follow-me mode is active, the unmanned aircraft must be operated up to a maximum distance of 50 metres from the remote pilot.
- Binding lawEU/EASA framework rule
Visual Line of Sight (VLOS) Requirement
The remote pilot must keep the unmanned aircraft in VLOS at all times, except when flying in follow-me mode or when using an unmanned aircraft observer.
- Binding lawEU/EASA framework rule
Visual Line of Sight and Collision Avoidance
During the flight, the remote pilot must keep the unmanned aircraft in VLOS, maintain a thorough visual scan of the surrounding airspace to avoid collision risks with manned aircraft, and discontinue the flight if it poses a risk.
- GuidanceNational rule
Maximum UA per Remote Pilot Limit
The number of unmanned aircraft (UA) that a single remote pilot is permitted to control simultaneously must not exceed the limit defined in the UAS flight manual.
- GuidanceEU/EASA framework rule
ConOps Operations Description and Volume
EASA accepts a ConOps detailing the types of operations, operational volume (including ground and air risk buffers), population density, airspace, and crew/automation level of involvement as a means of complying with Article 11.
- GuidanceEU/EASA framework rule
Preliminary Operational Concept Elements
EASA accepts outlining a preliminary operational concept covering flight location, altitude, speed, flight mode, UAS type, and environmental limitations as a means of initiating the SORA process.
Official sources
Known limitations
- Binding law and official guidance disagree on bvlos.operational_limitations; the binding position is published.
- 5 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 Ireland
- When does a drone operation need authorisation in Ireland?Whether an operation in Ireland needs prior authorisation depends on the operational category, risk class or location: the published triggers below decide it.
- Do I need drone insurance in Ireland?Drone insurance in Ireland is published with a minimum third-party cover of 0.75 million SDR. Whether cover is required for a given flight depends on the published conditions below.
Built around official regulatory sources
- Official sources
- Regulation-level citations
- Coverage and freshness checks
- Location-aware data where available
Built from 18 published facts (4 binding) held for Ireland. Dataset ds_55k3jghy8xqzcekzeepwdmanya · generated 2026-09-02 · sources last verified 2026-08-24.
Ask Drone Assistant about beyond visual line of sight in Ireland
This page answers "Is BVLOS drone flight allowed in Ireland?" for the general case. Ask about your own aircraft, weight and location to see which of the 7 rules above actually apply to you.
This page gives general regulatory information. It is not flight clearance, operational authorisation or legal advice, and it does not guarantee that a flight is legal. See sources and methodology and terms.