Photographing critical infrastructure: airports, radar sites and power plants in a legal context

You’re standing on a field path next to the approach path, the camera on a monopod, and behind the fence a radar antenna turns leisurely. A few kilometers away, a power plant chimney rises into the sky – a nice backdrop for the next approach. And then comes the question: Am I even allowed to do this? Ever since terms like critical infrastructure and KRITIS keep showing up in the news and operators visibly step up protection of their facilities, many spotters have become unsure. This guide sorts out which rules actually apply when photographing critical infrastructure in Germany, where the differences between an airport, a radar station and a power plant lie – and how to behave when someone asks questions.

The short answer

In Germany there is no general ban on photographing critical infrastructure. You may in principle photograph airports, civil radar sites and power plants from public streets, paths and squares. The new KRITIS Umbrella Act (KRITIS-Dachgesetz) changes nothing about that, because it obliges the operators, not the people at the fence.

Four other sets of rules draw the limits: the house rules on the respective premises, bans on entry for closed-off areas, military criminal law for military installations and the drone rules of the Air Traffic Regulations. There is also a practical factor: Operators and authorities have become more alert. If you stand in front of a facility with a long focal length, you’re more likely to be approached than before – usually without legal consequences, but with some explaining to do.

What “critical infrastructure” actually means

The Federal Office of Civil Protection and Disaster Assistance (BBK) describes critical infrastructures as organizations and facilities so important to the community that their failure would lead to lasting supply shortages or significant disruptions to public safety. Classic examples are electricity and water supply, hospitals, food supply and transport – and with it airports and air traffic control.

Since March 17, 2026, there has been a law of its own for this: the Act to Strengthen the Physical Resilience of Critical Facilities, the KRITIS Umbrella Act for short. It names ten sectors, including energy, transport and traffic, water, health, and information technology and telecommunications. Operators of covered facilities must register, analyze risks, draw up a resilience plan and report incidents.

One point is especially interesting for spotters: The law demands appropriate physical protection. Explicitly mentioned are structural and technical site security, property boundaries, detection devices, access controls and procedures for monitoring the surroundings. Translated, that means: more cameras, more sensors and security staff who also keep an eye on a facility’s surroundings. A photography ban for passersby, on the other hand, is not to be found in the law.

The legal building blocks at a glance

Instead of a single “KRITIS photo law,” several rules interlock. This table shows which ones are relevant to you as a spotter.

Rule	What it regulates	What it means for you
§ 59 UrhG (freedom of panorama)	Works permanently located on public paths may be depicted and published – for buildings, only the exterior view	Photographing and showing a terminal, tower or cooling tower from the street is permissible under copyright law
House rules	Owners or occupiers determine what is allowed on their premises	In the terminal, on the parking garage roof or the plant grounds, photography can be prohibited
KRITIS Umbrella Act	Operators’ duties: risk analysis, physical protection, reporting	No photo ban, but more surveillance and security staff
§ 109g StGB	Security-endangering depiction of military installations, equipment and operations	Applies only to military matters – but then to passing images on as well
§ 114 OWiG	Unauthorized entry into closed-off military installations	Administrative offense, even if negligent
§ 21h LuftVO	Geographic restrictions for drones	Distances to airports, energy, industrial and military facilities

As for civil airports, aviation security requirements come on top. How the Aviation Security Act (Luftsicherheitsgesetz) is structured and whom it actually addresses is explained in the guide The Aviation Security Act for spotters. The overview of the EU aviation security regulation fits the European level.

Airports: publicly accessible, but not everywhere

A major commercial airport like Frankfurt Airport or Munich Airport is critical infrastructure in the transport and traffic sector – and at the same time a place where spotters are explicitly welcome. Observation decks, visitors’ hills and viewing platforms exist precisely because operators know about the interest in aviation and want to channel it.

The limits run along three zones:

• Public streets and paths outside the grounds: The airport’s house rules do not apply here. You may photograph aircraft on approach, on takeoff or on the taxiway. Ladders and tripods are a topic of their own, covered in the article Ladders, steps and tripods at the airport fence.
• The airport’s landside: Terminal, parking garages and forecourts belong to the operator. Photography there is usually tolerated but can be restricted by house rules. Details are in the guide to house rules at the airport.
• Security area and airside: Stricter rules apply behind the checkpoint. The security checkpoint itself in particular is off limits – why is explained in the article Photographing at the security checkpoint. The differences between the areas are sorted out in Landside, airside, security area.

At spots like the Zeppelinheim viewing platform or the Munich Airport visitors’ hill, you’re legally on the safe side. It only gets critical when you take an interest in the security technology instead of the aircraft: Access gates, camera positions, fence lines or staff entrances are not spotter subjects.

Radar sites: civil or military?

Radar domes and rotating antennas are part of the picture at many airports. One question is decisive for the legal classification: Who operates the facility?

Civil radar sites for air traffic control are operated in Germany by DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung (the German air navigation service provider). It distinguishes between primary radar, which receives echoes from aircraft and thus shows only the position, and secondary radar, in which the transponder on board responds and transmits identification and altitude. Such facilities stand at airports but also off on hilltops. They are critical infrastructure but not military installations. Photographing from public paths is not prohibited; entering the fenced-in grounds is. You can learn more about the role of air traffic control in the article on DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung.

Military radar sites for air defense, on the other hand, are military installations. § 109g StGB applies to them: Anyone commits a crime who makes or passes on an image and thereby knowingly endangers the security of the Federal Republic or the combat effectiveness of the troops. Even an attempt is punishable, and anyone who recklessly passes on such an image can also be prosecuted under paragraph 4. On top of that, such sites are usually closed-off military areas.

Feature	Civil air traffic control radar site	Military radar site
Operator	DFS (air traffic control)	Bundeswehr or allied armed forces
Legal framework	House rules, ban on entry	§ 109g StGB, § 114 OWiG, military security area
Photo from a public path	generally permissible	only with great restraint, better not targeted
Detail shots of the technology	unnecessary, better avoided	hands off
Drone	distance and consent depending on the situation	taboo without consent (100 m)

How to tell whether you’re standing in front of a military installation: Signs pointing to military security areas, Bundeswehr signage or guards are clear signals. For air bases, the situation outside the fence also changed in 2026 – under certain conditions, soldiers may also check people outside who are observing a security area. The details are in the guide Photographing a military airfield.

Power plants and energy facilities

Power plants show up for spotters more often than you might think: as a backdrop behind the approach, as a striking landmark or simply because cooling towers and chimneys stand next to some airports. They belong to their operators, and under the KRITIS Umbrella Act they count in the energy sector.

From public streets and paths you may photograph them, and thanks to freedom of panorama you may also publish the exterior view. The plant grounds, on the other hand, are off limits unless you have permission, and plant security can enforce the house rules there. A special case is former nuclear power plants: The last three German reactors went offline in April 2023, but the sites and the associated interim storage facilities remain heavily secured. Here it applies all the more that security installations are not a subject.

The strictest rule concerns drones. Under § 21h LuftVO, operation over central energy generation and energy distribution facilities and within 100 meters of lateral distance is only permitted if the responsible authority or the operator expressly consents. The same applies to industrial facilities, prisons and military installations. Where exactly such zones lie is shown by the map explained in the article Geozones in Germany and the dipul map.

Drones: the hardest limit

For all three types of facility, the drone is the point where things get serious fastest. At the airport, under § 21h LuftVO, a radius of 1,000 meters around the boundary applies, plus a corridor of 1,000 meters on both sides of the runway centerlines extended by five kilometers each – operation there is only permitted in the specific category, which in practice rules out hobby pilots. The basics are summarized in the guide Drones at the airport.

Context matters too: Drone sightings have repeatedly led to operational interruptions at airports, and operators are investing in detection and defense. Anyone who launches a drone near a critical facility will, when in doubt, trigger a police response. Background is provided by the articles Drone sightings at airports and Drone detection and defense at airports.

Spotter photo or problem? The subject traffic light

The law works with abstract terms. At the fence, a simpler question helps: Does my picture show an aircraft or a landscape – or does it show how a facility is secured? The following classification is a rule of thumb, not a guarantee.

One detail that is often overlooked: People in the picture have rights too. How to deal with staff, passengers and other spotters in the frame is covered in the article People in spotter photos.

When someone asks: reacting the right way

Because of the stronger surveillance of the surroundings, you’re more likely to be approached at critical facilities – by plant security, the airport’s security service or the police. That is not an accusation but routine. Here is how you defuse the situation:

The guides When security shows up, Police checks while spotting and Do I have to delete photos? cover this in more detail. What applies if your camera or memory card is actually kept is explained in Camera or memory card seized. And anyone who spots with open eyes can even be an asset for security – the article Spotters as security partners shows how.

Publishing with good judgment

Taking a picture and publishing it are two different things. For military installations, even passing images on can become relevant under § 109g StGB. For civil facilities there is no such ban, but there are good reasons for restraint:

• Choose the frame: If the aircraft is the subject, you don’t need fence posts with a camera or the access gate in the picture. A tight crop usually makes the photo stronger anyway.
• Don’t comment on security details: Captions like “the fence is low here” or hints about blind spots have no place in forums and on social media.
• Use geodata deliberately: Spot coordinates help other spotters. How to use geotags sensibly is described in Geotagging aircraft photos.

Other standards apply abroad

Everything in this article refers to Germany. In other countries, airports, bridges, power plants and radar sites may generally count as sensitive objects whose photography is prohibited – regardless of where you stand. Before you take out your camera on vacation, read the overview Countries with strict photography bans and Spotting abroad. For the neighboring countries, there are guides of their own on Austria and Switzerland.

Conclusion

Critical infrastructure is a term from civil protection, not a photography ban. In Germany you may photograph airports, civil radar sites and power plants from public areas. The KRITIS Umbrella Act obliges operators to provide more protection and surveillance – for you, that mainly means you’re seen more often and occasionally approached. Real limits are set by the house rules on the premises, closed-off areas, military criminal law and the drone rules. You’ll find an overview of the basic rules at the airport in the article Is plane spotting allowed?.