The Aviation Security Act (LuftSiG) explained: what spotters need to know

At some point while spotting, the sentence comes up: “That’s prohibited under the Aviation Security Act.” It is often said by people who have never read the law – sometimes also by the person in uniform opposite you. The Aviation Security Act (Luftsicherheitsgesetz, LuftSiG) is not a spotter law, but a few sections concern you directly: the ban on entering the airside, the prohibited items and the sanctions. This guide shows you what is really in it, what is not in it and where the line runs at the fence.

The LuftSiG in one sentence

The Aviation Security Act is a federal law from 2005 that protects civil aviation from attacks – § 1 expressly names aircraft hijackings, sabotage and terrorist attacks. For that purpose it regulates what aviation security authorities may do, which security measures airport operators and airlines must implement and what happens when someone breaks the rules.

What matters is what the law is not: it is not a general airport house rule, not a photography rule and not a basis for a blanket ban on being within sight of an airport. Anyone taking photos from a public dirt road, from the Munich visitors’ hill or from the Hamburg observation deck is outside the areas the LuftSiG protects. The general question of whether plane spotting is allowed is therefore answered mostly by other rules.

Structure of the law: six parts, four of them count

The LuftSiG is manageable. Most sections are addressed to authorities and companies. For spotters, a look at this overview is worthwhile:

Part	Sections	Content	Relevance for spotters
1 – General	§§ 1–2	Purpose and tasks of the aviation security authority	Background
2 – Security measures	§§ 3–12	Powers, background checks, duties of airports and airlines, entry ban, prohibited items, authority on board	high (§§ 3–5, 10, 11)
3 – Armed forces	§§ 13–15a	Administrative assistance by the Bundeswehr in air incidents and against drones	low
4 – Jurisdiction and procedure	§§ 16–17a	Who is responsible, where the authorities may act	medium (§ 16)
5 – Fines and penalties	§§ 18–20	Administrative offenses and crimes	high
6 – Final provisions	§§ 21–22	Restrictions of fundamental rights, transitional rules	low

§ 10: the airside is off limits

If you remember only one section from the whole law, make it this one. § 10 (1) prohibits entering the airside of an airport or a security area without authorization – and likewise gaining or enabling such access for oneself or another.

What is the airside? The term comes from EU aviation security law, which the article on the EU aviation security regulation explains in more detail. It means the movement areas of the airport – runways, taxiways, apron – as well as adjoining areas and buildings to which access is restricted. The security area is the part of the airside that you can only enter after screening, such as the gate area behind passenger screening.

For you at the fence, translated, that means:

• Landside: access roads, parking lots, public paths around the airport, terminal halls, observation decks and viewing hills. The operator’s house rules or the general law for public areas apply here.
• Airside: everything behind the airport fence and behind the security checkpoint. Here you need authorization, that is an airport ID, a boarding pass with screening or an escorted tour.

The exact transitions – including special cases such as cargo areas and maintenance hangars – are shown in the guide to Landside, airside and security area.

Tours and apron bus tours

§ 10 is also interesting because it explains why you are screened on an apron tour or airport tour, may only get out at designated points and always stay accompanied. In this case the authorization hangs on the tour, not on you personally. Anyone who wanders away from the group quickly ends up on the airside without authorization.

§§ 18 and 19: what threatens for a violation

The sanctions are tiered. For spotters this is the really relevant information, because this is where it is decided whether a misstep becomes a fine notice or criminal proceedings.

Administrative offense (§ 18): Anyone who intentionally or negligently gains access to the airside contrary to § 10 acts unlawfully. The fine can be up to €10,000. Negligent means: even those who “didn’t notice” they were already inside are not automatically off the hook.

Crime (§ 19 (1)): If the entry is intentional and thereby compromises the safety of civil aviation, imprisonment of up to two years or a fine threatens. Such a compromise is likely if flight operations are interrupted, a runway is closed or a response has to be triggered.

Aggravated form (§ 19 (2)): Up to five years’ imprisonment is possible if a prohibited item is carried during such an entry or the act is meant to enable or conceal another crime. In these variants, even the attempt is punishable.

Situation	Classification under the LuftSiG	Range
Negligently ending up on the airside	Administrative offense, § 18 (1) no. 5	Fine up to €10,000
Intentionally over the fence, no consequences for operations	Administrative offense, § 18 (1) no. 5	Fine up to €10,000
Intentional entry, operations compromised	Crime, § 19 (1) no. 2	up to 2 years or a fine
Intentional entry with compromise, carrying a prohibited item	Crime, § 19 (2)	up to 5 years or a fine

The LuftSiG does not stand alone here. Depending on the case, offenses from the Criminal Code are added, such as trespassing or dangerous interference with air traffic, as well as civil claims by the airport for a response that was triggered. What that looks like in practice is described in the article on Trespassing on airport grounds.

§ 11: prohibited items – and why that hardly counts at the fence

§ 11 prohibits carrying certain items in aircraft and on the airside. Named are firearms, cutting and stabbing weapons, spray devices suitable for attack or defense, explosives, ammunition, flammable, corrosive or toxic substances as well as items that look like weapons or explosives. The list is complemented by EU rules on carry-on baggage. Anyone who has such an item with them in the security area or on board is already committing a crime under § 19 (1) no. 1 – even negligently.

For the spotter on the public path this is initially without significance, because you are not on the airside. The section becomes relevant in three situations:

• When you fly yourself and take your camera gear along – tools, tripod and batteries then fall under the carry-on rules. Practical tips are in the guide on Camera gear in carry-on baggage.
• On tours, when you go through screening onto the airside. Pocket knife and multitool are better left in the car then.
• As an aggravation: Anyone who has prohibited items with them during unauthorized entry lands in the higher penalty range of § 19 (2).

§§ 3 to 5: what the aviation security authority may do

Under § 3, the aviation security authority has a general clause: it may take the necessary measures to avert a danger to the safety of air traffic that exists in an individual case. § 5 supplements this with special powers – above all to search persons and items that are to enter the security area, to have security areas patrolled by police forces and to stop persons on the airside and send them out if they cannot prove their authorization.

This is limited by § 4, the principle of proportionality: of several suitable measures, the mildest must be chosen, and no measure may lead to a disadvantage that is clearly out of proportion to its purpose.

Who this authority is depends on the airport. The law is generally carried out by the states on behalf of the federal government. Some of the tasks are performed in federal administration – the Federal Police is responsible for that under the Federal Police Act. For airlines’ security programs, the Luftfahrt-Bundesamt (Federal Aviation Office) is responsible.

§ 16: where the law applies territorially

§ 16 (1) provides that the territorial jurisdiction of the aviation security authorities extends to the airfield grounds. Only individual measures, such as inspections of companies handling cargo, mail or airport deliveries, are also permitted outside. For the dirt road behind the fence, the LuftSiG is hardly the tool of choice – there, police and public order authorities work with their own laws.

What airports must do under § 8

§ 8 obliges airport operators, among other things, to secure the airside against unauthorized access and to allow access to security areas only to authorized persons. The measures end up in an aviation security program that the authority must approve.

That explains much of what you observe at the fence: cameras, patrol drives along the perimeter, detectors, restricted zones in front of gates and occasionally the friendly question of what you are doing here. At Frankfurt Airport or Munich Airport, this is part of everyday life. Many operators see spotters more as additional eyes than as a problem – the idea behind it is described in the article Spotters as security partners.

Anyone who notices something unusual – a damaged fence, a person on the apron, a drone in the approach sector – reports it to the police or the airport and does not go after it themselves.

The remaining sections at a glance

• § 7 Background check: Anyone who needs more than occasional access to the security area – such as airport employees – is checked by the authority. Aviators, meaning pilots, are covered as well. For spotters this becomes relevant when they want to work at an airport themselves; the article Becoming an aviation security assistant offers an insight.
• § 9 Airlines: Airlines must implement their own security programs, for example for parked aircraft.
• § 12 Authority on board: The aircraft commander in charge ensures safety and order on board; everyone on board must follow their orders. Violations are subject to fines or penalties under § 20.
• §§ 13 to 15a Armed forces: Rules on the Bundeswehr’s support of the police in serious air incidents, by now also for defending against drones. Historically well known is the Federal Constitutional Court’s decision of February 15, 2006, which declared the then authorization to shoot down passenger aircraft in § 14 (3) void.

Drones, by the way, are a chapter of their own: for flying near airports, air traffic law and EU drone rules above all apply. You will find the overview under Drones at airports.

Myths around the LuftSiG

There are separate guides on the gray areas: Photography in the terminal, Ladders, steps and tripods at the airport fence and the question of whether you have to delete photos if security demands it. Fundamentals on house rules are in the article on the airport operator’s house rules.

How to stay on the safe side at the fence

A few practical rules of thumb complement the list. Unattended baggage quickly triggers a response even landside. Anyone who stands in one place for a long time with large equipment is approached more often – that is not an accusation but part of perimeter security under § 8. And anyone who explains in a friendly way that they photograph aircraft, and perhaps even shows the pictures, ends most conversations after a minute. More on this is in the Code of conduct for plane spotters and in the guide on proper behavior at the airport fence.

If you spot abroad, the LuftSiG does not apply – local laws take effect there, some of them considerably stricter. An overview is offered by Spotting abroad.

Conclusion

At first glance the Aviation Security Act looks more threatening than it is for spotters. Its core is the protection of the airside, the security area and aircraft – and that is exactly where you, as a spotter, have no business anyway. What matters for you is § 10 with the entry ban and the sanctions in §§ 18 and 19, which provide a fine for negligent entry and a crime for intentional intrusion with consequences for operations. The law does not prohibit photography. What is allowed at the fence, on the deck or in the terminal is decided by house rules and general law.