Flying a drone near airports in Netherlands

What the rules say

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

• Distance restrictionNot resolved
• Aerodrome permissionNo
• Controlled airspace permissionConditional
• Protected facilitiesNo
• Digital authorisationConditional
• Altitude relationshipConditional
• 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 Clearance

  Before starting a flight, or portion of a flight, for which air traffic control services are provided, an air traffic control clearance must be requested and obtained.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Exemption from minimum VFR flight altitudes

  The minimum flight altitudes for VFR traffic specified in paragraph SERA.5005 of Regulation (EU) No 923/2012 do not apply to flights with an unmanned aircraft.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Flight prohibition in civil and military CTRs

  It is prohibited to fly a drone in civil CTRs (Schiphol, Maastricht, Lelystad 1 & 2, Eelde, Rotterdam, Niederrhein) and military CTRs (Eindhoven, Gilze-Rijen, Leeuwarden, Volkel, Woensdrecht, Deelen, de Peel, de Kooy, Kleine-Brogel).

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Flight prohibition in civil CTRs

  It is prohibited to fly a drone in the civil controlled airspace (CTRs) of Schiphol, Maastricht, Lelystad 1 and 2, Eelde, Rotterdam, and the Dutch part of the Niederrhein CTR.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Flight prohibition in military CTRs

  It is prohibited to fly a drone in the military controlled airspace (CTRs) of Eindhoven, Gilze-Rijen, Leeuwarden, Volkel, Woensdrecht, Deelen, de Peel, de Kooy, and the Dutch part of the Kleine-Brogel CTR.

  Open the requirementOfficial source

Official sources

• Wet luchtvaart — hoofdstuk 5 (luchtverkeer) (BWBR0005555) — Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland (Air Traffic Control the Netherlands)Open
• Regeling onbemande luchtvaartuigen (BWBR0044598, consolidated) — Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland (Air Traffic Control the Netherlands)Open

Known limitations

• Binding law and official guidance disagree on airport_airspace.airport_permission; the binding position is published.
• Binding law and official guidance disagree on airport_airspace.protected_facility; 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 Netherlands

• Do I need to register my drone in Netherlands?Registration in Netherlands 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.
• What is the maximum drone altitude in Netherlands?Drone flights in Netherlands are held to a published general height limit of 120 m above_nearest_obstacle. The limit is not absolute: the published conditions that change it are cited below.
• Can I fly a drone at night in Netherlands?No. A published rule in Netherlands prohibits night operations for the operations covered here.
• When does a drone operation need authorisation in Netherlands?Whether an operation in Netherlands 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 Netherlands?Remote pilot competency in Netherlands scales with the operation: which training, examination or proof of competency applies is set by the published conditions below.
• Do I need drone insurance in Netherlands?Drone insurance in Netherlands 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.

All drone laws in Netherlands