Maximum Height of 120 Meters from Terrain

In plain language

You must keep your drone within 120 meters (400 feet) of the ground. This height limit follows the contours of the terrain.

Requirement as structured

Guidance material GM1 UAS.OPEN.010 explains how the binding maximum height applies in practice: the remote pilot must ensure that the unmanned aircraft is kept at a distance of less than 120 m (400 ft) from the terrain, so the maximum height the UA may reach changes with the topography of the terrain, and where a Member State has defined a geographical zone with a lower maximum height the remote pilot must ensure that the UA complies with that zone. The legal source of the 120 m ceiling is Article 4(1)(e) of, and point UAS.OPEN.010 of the Annex to, Regulation (EU) 2019/947; this guidance explains that rule and does not create it.

Original regulatory text

The remote pilot must ensure that he or she keeps the unmanned aircraft (UA) at a distance less than 120 m (400 ft) from the terrain, and the picture below shows how the maximum height that the UA may reach changes according to the topography of the terrain.

Applies when

country

European Union / EASA

operation

EU UAS operation

regulatory category

Open