Aerial photos of airports: when a drone can be approved in a control zone

An airport from above is one of the most impressive subjects there is: the apron as a grid, the runways as bright lines, a widebody turning onto the taxiway. No wonder many spotters with a drone eventually ask: Can I get a permit for that? The honest answer is: in principle it is possible – but only via a route that suits survey companies and media productions better than a weekend hobby. This guide shows you the three levels of approval, the new DFS zones in control zones and what stays realistic for spotters.

Aerial photos of an airport: the short answer

A drone flight over or right next to a German commercial airport is only permitted in the “specific” category. That is what § 21h paragraph 3 number 2 of the Air Traffic Regulation (LuftVO) says for the area up to 1,000 meters around the airport boundary and for corridors of 1,000 meters on either side of the runway centerlines, extended by 5 kilometers in both directions. Unlike at small airfields, the regulation does not provide for the airport’s consent as an alternative.

On top of that there is almost always a control zone. There you need an air traffic control clearance, which in the airport’s inner area is only granted individually. And finally, someone has to agree to your taking off from their property. Only when all three levels are settled may the drone take off.

Three levels that apply at the same time

The most common mistake: mistaking a single permission for the whole permission. In reality, different bodies check different things, and no approval replaces another.

Level	What is regulated	Who decides	What you need
Airport geozone (§ 21h para. 3 no. 2 LuftVO)	whether flying is allowed at all	state aviation authority or LBA	operational authorization in the “specific” category
Control zone (§ 21h para. 3 no. 9 LuftVO)	use of the controlled airspace	DFS or local aerodrome control unit	air traffic control clearance
Ground and image	takeoff and landing site, overflight, privacy rights	owner, airport operator, people affected	consent, house rules, data protection

At smaller airfields without airport status, things look a little different: there, § 21h paragraph 3 number 1 sets a zone of 1.5 kilometers in which you may fly with the consent of air traffic supervision, flight operations or the operator – without the “specific” category at all. If the airfield also lies in a control zone, you still need the air navigation service’s clearance. How to check all the zones on one map is explained in the guide Geozones and the dipul map.

Level 1: The “specific” category and the operational authorization

EU Implementing Regulation 2019/947 divides drone operations into the open, specific and certified categories. As soon as a flight does not meet a condition of the open category – or, as at an airport, a geozone only allows “specific” – you need an operational authorization in advance. The A1/A3 proof of competency or the A2 remote pilot certificate alone are not enough for this. A drone under 250 grams does not change that either, because the geozones apply regardless of weight.

Who is responsible

The aviation authority of the federal state where you have your primary residence, or for companies the registered office, is responsible. Numerous states have transferred the task to the Federal Aviation Office (Luftfahrt-Bundesamt, LBA); according to the LBA these include Bavaria, Berlin, Hamburg and North Rhine-Westphalia, among others. For applicants from these states, the LBA is responsible regardless of where the flight later takes place. You have to be registered as an operator anyway – details in the article Registering a drone.

What goes into the application

Since January 2026, the LBA requires a risk assessment under SORA 2.5 (Specific Operations Risk Assessment) for first applications. The process roughly looks like this:

• Concept of operations: What exactly is to be flown, where, how high and for how long – and why is it not possible in the open category?
• Flight area as a file: The operating area is drawn with the dipul volume planner and exported as a file, including a buffer for emergencies and ground risk.
• Risk analysis: Ground and air risk produce a classification (SAIL) that determines which evidence you have to provide. In the immediate vicinity of an airport with scheduled traffic, the air risk is usually high, which drives the requirements up.
• Operations manual: Based on the LBA’s sample manual, supplemented by a compliance matrix.
• Preliminary talk: The LBA recommends an online meeting before the actual application.

The application is submitted to the LBA by email. For simple cases up to SAIL II with visual line of sight, there is the expedited procedure FastFlight. For regular applications, the LBA states a non-binding wait of well over six months until processing begins on its website (as of October 2026). The review itself then usually takes only a few working days. Fees follow the LBA’s fee schedule.

Level 2: The control zone and the new four-zone model

A control zone is controlled airspace that begins at the ground and surrounds the airfield along with its arrival and departure paths. How to recognize it on maps is covered in the guide Airspaces C, D, E, G and control zones. Under § 21h paragraph 3 number 9 LuftVO, you may only fly there with air traffic control clearance.

Since August 6, 2026, a new model applies to the control zones of the 15 airports where DFS provides aerodrome control (general administrative act NfL 2026-1-3960). These include Frankfurt Airport, Munich Airport, Hamburg Airport and Berlin Brandenburg, among others.

Zone	Area	What applies
Zone 1	up to 1,000 m around the airport boundary plus corridors along the runway axes	always an individual clearance, regardless of height
Zone 2	4 km circle around the aerodrome reference point	general clearance up to 25 m (above aerodrome elevation or ground, the lower value counts)
Zone 3	6 km circle	general clearance up to 45 m (the lower value counts)
Zone 4	rest of the control zone	general clearance up to 100 m above aerodrome elevation or 50 m above ground (the higher value counts)

The general clearance in Zones 2 to 4 depends on conditions, including at least 800 meters of ground visibility and weight limits. For your airport aerial it is of no interest anyway: The subject lies in Zone 1. There it stays with the individual clearance.

How the individual clearance works

At the DFS airports, you request it through the online form at ais.dfs.de, as a rule with 14 days of lead time, longer for complex projects. The reply comes by email, and the aerodrome control unit sets the maximum height and further conditions. Important: A submitted request does not entitle you to anything, and there is no entitlement to the clearance. It can be denied, restricted or withdrawn at short notice. At airfields where air traffic services are provided by DFS Aviation Services, a separate general administrative act applies (NfL 2026-1-3981); at other airfields, the local control unit is responsible.

The clearance only regulates that you may use the controlled airspace. It replaces neither the operational authorization nor the consent on the ground. Anyone who confuses this flies illegally despite the DFS email.

Level 3: Ground, house rules and image rights

Even with both aviation papers, you need a place to take off. The airport grounds are subject to the operator’s house rules, and fields and paths around the fence belong to farmers, municipalities or private individuals. Anyone who takes off there without consent has a civil-law problem – more on the limits on the ground in the article The airport operator’s house rules.

Then there are the rights of the people pictured. Aerial photos quickly show people on the apron, vehicle license plates or neighboring properties. Privacy rights and data protection apply from above too, especially when you publish images. And airports are critical infrastructure: security-relevant details such as checkpoints or access points have no place in published images. The guide Photographing critical infrastructure provides background.

Who realistically gets a permit

Legally there is no blanket ban, in practice the individual case decides. A rough classification:

Why the authorities are so strict is shown in practice: even a single reported drone sighting can interrupt flight operations. How airports detect drones is covered in the article Drone detection and defense at airports; what happens after a sighting is described in Drone sightings at airports and The Gatwick drone incident of 2018. Which penalties threaten for unauthorized flights is summarized in the guide Drones near airports.

The path to approval step by step

If you are planning a real project professionally, this sequence helps:

Legal alternatives for aerial photos

For most spotters, the view from above is much easier to get another way. A separate aerial photography permit for photos from crewed aircraft has not existed in Germany since 1990. On a sightseeing flight from a small airfield or from a window seat on a scheduled flight, you can therefore take photos as long as you observe on-board rules and privacy rights. § 109g StGB draws a line: aerial photos with which someone knowingly endangers the security of the Federal Republic or the combat effectiveness of the armed forces are punishable – relevant mainly for military facilities.

• Window seat: Tips on seat choice, reflections and exposure are in the guide Photographing from the airplane window.
• Sightseeing flight: If you want to give a flight as a gift or book one yourself, you will find ideas under Gifting a sightseeing flight, simulator session or airport tour.
• Elevated spots on the ground: Visitors’ hills and terraces often offer a surprisingly good overview, for example the Munich Airport visitors’ hill or the observation deck at BER.

Strict rules around airports apply abroad too. The differences are summarized in the guides on Drones in Austria, Drones in Switzerland and Drones elsewhere in the EU.

Conclusion

Aerial photos of a German commercial airport are not prohibited in principle, but they are tied to three separate hurdles: the operational authorization in the “specific” category for the airport geozone, the individual air traffic control clearance for Zone 1 of the control zone and consent on the ground. DFS’s new four-zone model makes flights at the edge of control zones easier, but it changes nothing at the airport itself. For professional projects the route is feasible, for the spotting outing it is not.