Flying a drone near airports in New Zealand

What the rules say

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

• Aerodrome permissionNo
• Controlled airspace permissionConditional
• Protected facilitiesConditional
• Digital authorisationConditional
• Altitude relationshipConditional

The rules behind this answer

• Binding lawNational rule

  Compliance with transport instrument conditions in controlled airspace

  A person operating an unmanned aircraft in controlled airspace must comply with the conditions and requirements specified in a transport instrument.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Compliance with Transport Instrument in Controlled Airspace

  A person operating an unmanned aircraft in controlled airspace must comply with the conditions and requirements specified in any applicable transport instrument.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Compliance with Transport Instruments in Controlled Airspace

  A person operating an unmanned aircraft in controlled airspace must comply with the conditions and requirements specified in any applicable transport instrument.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Controlled Aerodrome Authorization

  A person must not operate a remotely piloted aircraft within 4 km of a controlled aerodrome unless the operation is authorized by the relevant Air Traffic Control (ATC) unit.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Controlled airspace authorization

  A person must not operate an unmanned aircraft, kite, rocket, gyroglider, or parasail in controlled airspace without prior authorisation from the ATC unit responsible for that airspace, unless the operation is a shielded operation.

  Open the requirementOfficial source
• Binding lawNational rule

  Low Flying Zone Vertical Limits

  The vertical limits of a designated low flying zone must extend from the surface of the earth up to a height of 500 feet.

  Open the requirementOfficial source

Official sources

• Civil Aviation Rules Part 101 — Gyrogliders and Parasails, Unmanned Aircraft (including Balloons), Kites, and Rockets — Operating Rules (consolidation) — Civil Aviation Authority of New ZealandOpen
• Civil Aviation Transport Instrument (CATI) 101-1 — technical standards for Part 101 operations — Civil Aviation Authority of New ZealandOpen
• Civil Aviation Rules Part 71 — Designation and Classification of Airspace (consolidation) — Civil Aviation Authority of New ZealandOpen

Known limitations

• Binding law and official guidance disagree on airport_airspace.airport_permission; the binding position is published.
• 2 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 New Zealand

• Do I need to register my drone in New Zealand?Registration in New Zealand 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 New Zealand?Drone flights in New Zealand are held to a published general height limit of 121.92 m AGL. The limit is not absolute: the published conditions that change it are cited below.
• Can I fly a drone at night in New Zealand?No. A published rule in New Zealand prohibits night operations for the operations covered here.
• When does a drone operation need authorisation in New Zealand?Whether an operation in New Zealand 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 New Zealand?Proof of competency is required. Published rules in New Zealand require the remote pilot to hold the competency described below before operating.

All drone laws in New Zealand