dronetravel.guideBriefings checked 8 Oct 2026

Countries · Central Europe / Alps · EASA rules

Austria

Residents of the EU, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein fly on their home operator registration; everyone else registers with Austro Control for 46.80 euro if Austria is their first EU flight, and insurance of 750,000 SDR, 120 m, visual line of sight and a Dronespace check apply to every flight.

Open after a step for this profile · checked 8 October 2026

36 rules · 49 sources, 42 of them official · 19 fields unconfirmed · Austro Control Österreichische Gesellschaft für Zivilluftfahrt mbH · Austro Control Dronespace (English)

Everything below follows these two answers. Saved on this device, not sent anywhere.

Your answer

Every engine field and the workflow rest on official pages.

What decides it

  • Registration is also required below 250 g where the drone carries a sensor able to capture personal data, which means every camera drone except one falling under the EU toy Directive. Austro Control names the DJI Mini series explicitly.confirmed on the cited page
  • Registration is also required below 250 g where the drone can transfer more than 80 joules of kinetic energy on impact with a person, a so-called high-speed drone.confirmed on the cited page
  • The registration number must be affixed clearly visibly on every drone the operator flies. The form of marking is left to the operator and hand lettering is accepted. On scale models it may go inside the airframe, preferably in the accessible battery compartment.confirmed on the cited page
  • The minimum age to register as a drone operator is 18. From 16 a person may act as remote pilot provided an adult holds the registration, or may fly under the direct supervision of a suitably qualified remote pilot.confirmed on the cited page
  • Insurance meeting the Austrian Aviation Act is mandatory to operate a drone in Austria, with a minimum cover of 750,000 Special Drawing Rights. The policy number is entered during registration; the documents themselves are not uploaded.confirmed on the cited page

Permits tied to a place or a time

These do not change the country's colour; they decide whether a particular flight is legal where and when you want it.

  • Inside a civil control zone, operation is permitted only with the consent of the responsible air traffic control unit, obtained by submitting a flight plan in Dronespace. Control zones exist around Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg and Vienna-Schwechat.
  • Flying inside an airport zone requires a prior operating authorisation from Austro Control under section 18 (4) of the Luftverkehrsregeln 2014. Airport zones exist for Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg and Vienna-Schwechat.
  • The three permanently ordered restricted flight areas most relevant to drone pilots are Vienna (LO R 15), the Neusiedler See (LO R 16) and the Rheindelta (LO R 18). Flying inside them requires a chargeable operating authorisation from Austro Control.
  • LO R 16 over the Neusiedler See is not permanently active: in August and September no Austro Control authorisation is needed for UAS flights inside it. The nature-conservation provisions of the Neusiedler See stay valid at all times, so the permission of the Burgenland Landesregierung must be obtained before any flight there.
  • Near an aerodrome without an airport zone, drone operation is in principle allowed only outside the aerodrome's operating hours, which the pilot establishes from the AIP, from NOTAM or from the aerodrome operator. During operating hours it is allowed only for recognised rescue and emergency organisations, health services or disaster-protection authorities acting within their statutory tasks, or under a specific-category authorisation, a light UAS operator certificate or an Article 16 authorisation that covers it.
  • Military control zones, aerodrome traffic zones and terminal control areas need the consent of the locally responsible military flight control. Military restricted areas need authorisation from the Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung or the military flight control. Security zones of military aerodromes need the consent of the local military flight control. None of these can be cleared through Dronespace, which only clears civil control zones managed by Austro Control.
  • Four temporary restricted areas are designated as drone test areas: LO R 9 Steinalpl, LO R 10 Reichersberg, LO R 11 Frauschereck and LO R 12 Hochkar. The operator must notify the flight in advance and register bindingly by 14:00 on the last working day before the flight; Austro Control then activates the area by NOTAM. Activation and use are free of charge and flights are allowed only during the activated period.
  • Exceeding any open-category limit moves the operation into the specific category and requires an Austro Control operating authorisation with a SORA risk assessment, or a declaration where a published standard scenario fits, or a light UAS operator certificate. Even with a specific authorisation, flights in certain areas still need separate prior permission from Austro Control or another authority.

Before you fly, in order

  1. Registration is also required below 250 g where the drone carries a sensor able to capture personal data, which means every camera drone except one falling under the EU toy Directive. Austro Control names the DJI Mini series explicitly.
  2. Registration is also required below 250 g where the drone can transfer more than 80 joules of kinetic energy on impact with a person, a so-called high-speed drone.
  3. An operator resident in an EU member state, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway or Liechtenstein registers in the state of main residence and cannot register in Austria.
  4. The registration number must be affixed clearly visibly on every drone the operator flies. The form of marking is left to the operator and hand lettering is accepted. On scale models it may go inside the airframe, preferably in the accessible battery compartment.
  5. Insurance meeting the Austrian Aviation Act is mandatory to operate a drone in Austria, with a minimum cover of 750,000 Special Drawing Rights. The policy number is entered during registration; the documents themselves are not uploaded.
  6. Exceeding any open-category limit moves the operation into the specific category and requires an Austro Control operating authorisation with a SORA risk assessment, or a declaration where a published standard scenario fits, or a light UAS operator certificate. Even with a specific authorisation, flights in certain areas still need separate prior permission from Austro Control or another authority.
  7. Open-category flight may not exceed 120 m above ground.
  8. A1 is for drones under 900 g and allows uninvolved persons to be overflown only with a C0 drone under 250 g. A2 is for drones up to 4 kg with a minimum 30 m from uninvolved persons. A3 is for drones up to 25 kg, at least 150 m from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas, with no uninvolved persons in the flight area.
  9. The drone may be flown only in uninterrupted visual contact without technical aids. A declared visual-line-of-sight flight geometry larger than 1.5 by 1.5 km is rejected automatically by the flight-plan system.
  10. Under the Luftverkehrsregeln 2014, flights in control zones, airport zones, restricted flight areas and the surroundings of aerodromes without an airport zone need prior authorisation or consent. Check the Dronespace map or app at the launch site before every flight.
  11. Inside a civil control zone, operation is permitted only with the consent of the responsible air traffic control unit, obtained by submitting a flight plan in Dronespace. Control zones exist around Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg and Vienna-Schwechat.
  12. A UAS with a maximum take-off mass below 250 g flown no higher than 30 m above ground is exempt from the control-zone consent requirement. Austro Control still recommends using the Dronespace system.
  13. Flying inside an airport zone requires a prior operating authorisation from Austro Control under section 18 (4) of the Luftverkehrsregeln 2014. Airport zones exist for Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg and Vienna-Schwechat.
  14. The three permanently ordered restricted flight areas most relevant to drone pilots are Vienna (LO R 15), the Neusiedler See (LO R 16) and the Rheindelta (LO R 18). Flying inside them requires a chargeable operating authorisation from Austro Control.
  15. A UAS under 250 g maximum take-off mass flown no higher than 30 m above ground is exempt from the restricted-flight-area authorisation, but only where no aerodrome without an airport zone lies inside the flight area.
  16. LO R 16 over the Neusiedler See is not permanently active: in August and September no Austro Control authorisation is needed for UAS flights inside it. The nature-conservation provisions of the Neusiedler See stay valid at all times, so the permission of the Burgenland Landesregierung must be obtained before any flight there.
  17. Near an aerodrome without an airport zone, drone operation is in principle allowed only outside the aerodrome's operating hours, which the pilot establishes from the AIP, from NOTAM or from the aerodrome operator. During operating hours it is allowed only for recognised rescue and emergency organisations, health services or disaster-protection authorities acting within their statutory tasks, or under a specific-category authorisation, a light UAS operator certificate or an Article 16 authorisation that covers it.
  18. Temporary restricted areas are imposed by ordinance of the Bundesministerium für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur, for example around events, and are shown in Dronespace. Check the map before every flight for current restrictions in the flight area.
  19. Military control zones, aerodrome traffic zones and terminal control areas need the consent of the locally responsible military flight control. Military restricted areas need authorisation from the Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung or the military flight control. Security zones of military aerodromes need the consent of the local military flight control. None of these can be cleared through Dronespace, which only clears civil control zones managed by Austro Control.
  20. Four temporary restricted areas are designated as drone test areas: LO R 9 Steinalpl, LO R 10 Reichersberg, LO R 11 Frauschereck and LO R 12 Hochkar. The operator must notify the flight in advance and register bindingly by 14:00 on the last working day before the flight; Austro Control then activates the area by NOTAM. Activation and use are free of charge and flights are allowed only during the activated period.
  21. A flight plan is mandatory only inside control zones, where it is the vehicle for the air traffic control clearance; Austro Control recommends submitting one everywhere. A flight plan can be entered up to one minute before the planned departure, its times cannot be changed afterwards, and it must be closed after the flight.
  22. Inside zones that need an air traffic control clearance, the pilot must keep a permanent connection to the Dronespace system to receive the clearance and any controller message, and must follow those messages. A pilot who cannot watch the phone must have a briefed person involved in the operation do it.
  23. Nature reserves are not shown in the Austro Control Dronespace system. Under Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2019/947 they must first be designated as geographic zones by the Bundesministerium für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur before they appear on the map. A pilot planning a flight in a nature reserve must ask the competent bodies, which are often the Land governments.
  24. Take-off and landing need the landowner's consent. Section 2 of the Luftfahrtgesetz makes the use of airspace in flight free, but that covers only the overflight itself.
  25. The minimum age to register as a drone operator is 18. From 16 a person may act as remote pilot provided an adult holds the registration, or may fly under the direct supervision of a suitably qualified remote pilot.
  26. Spare lithium batteries in cabin baggage only: up to 100 Wh without approval, 100 to 160 Wh with airline approval and two spares, over 160 Wh not allowed (IATA passenger guidance; airlines may be stricter).

Spare lithium batteries in cabin baggage only: up to 100 Wh without approval, 100 to 160 Wh with airline approval and two spares, over 160 Wh not allowed (IATA passenger guidance; airlines may be stricter).

How a visitor gets legal

Each step as the authority describes it, with who may apply, what it costs and how long it takes.

  1. Step 1

    Classify the drone and the operation

    Establish the take-off mass, the class label C0 to C4 or legacy status, whether the drone carries a camera or other personal-data sensor, and whether it can transfer more than 80 joules on impact.

    Visitors eligible · None · Immediate

    • Drone data

    Open the official page

  2. Step 2

    EU, Swiss, Icelandic, Norwegian and Liechtenstein residents: register at home

    Register as an operator in your state of main residence. An Austrian registration is not open to you. Bring the registration confirmation and the competency certificate; both are checkable across borders and must be producible in Austria.

    Visitors eligible · Home state fee · Home state procedure

    • Home state operator registration
    • Competency certificate

    Open the official page

  3. Step 3

    UK, US and other third-country residents: register with Austro Control

    Register if Austria is the first EU state in which you will operate. You must be over 18 and fully legally competent. Create a user account, confirm the e-mail address and complete the operator account; the confirmation is then issued digitally and can be saved and printed.

    Visitors eligible · 46.80 EUR for three years · Not stated on any official page

    • Name
    • Address
    • Date of birth
    • E-mail address
    • Telephone number
    • Insurance policy number
    • Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card for payment

    Open the official page

  4. Step 4

    Take out liability insurance of at least 750,000 SDR

    Hold insurance meeting the Austrian Aviation Act before registering. The documents are not uploaded; only the policy number is entered during registration. Austro Control notes that other EU countries may require something different.

    Visitors eligible · Insurer dependent · Insurer dependent

    • Policy number

    Open the official page

  5. Step 5

    Mark the operator number and load it into Remote ID

    Affix the registration number clearly visibly on every drone, by any means including hand lettering. Where the drone has a remote-identification system, enter the 16-digit number and the 3-digit PIN into it. Remote ID is mandatory for C1, C2, C3, C5 and C6.

    Visitors eligible · None, or the price of a retrofit module · Immediate

    • Operator registration number
    • Registration PIN

    Open the official page

  6. Step 6

    Hold and carry the competency certificate over 250 g

    Complete the free online course and the 40-question online test, or bring a certificate from any other European country, which is valid here. For subcategory A2, sit the additional 30-question theory examination in person at Austro Control. Carry the certificate on every flight, electronically or printed.

    Visitors eligible · Online course and test free; A2 examination 69.60 EUR · Examination dependent

    • Competency certificate

    Open the official page

  7. Step 7

    Run the Quick-Check at the launch site before every flight

    Open Dronespace or the app at the exact launch point, select the aircraft and set the intended height and radius. Dark blue means a flight plan is required, orange a restriction or an authorisation needed from another actor such as the Ministry of Defence, light blue information, red no drone flight. Aerodromes without an airport zone show as orange circles.

    Visitors eligible · None · Immediate

    • Location
    • Aircraft
    • Intended height and radius

    Open the official page

  8. Step 8

    Control zone: submit a flight plan and wait for the clearance

    Submit the flight plan through Dronespace. The plan counts as active only when it reaches the green flying status, which inside a control zone is the air traffic control take-off clearance. Keep a permanent connection to the system, follow any controller message and close the plan when the flight is finished.

    Visitors eligible · None stated · Submission up to one minute before departure; clearance in seconds in simple cases

    • Pilot account linked to a registered operator account

    Open the official page

  9. Step 9

    Airport zone, restricted area or other geographic UAS area: apply two weeks ahead

    Send the application form to dronespace@austrocontrol.at about two weeks in advance. The map cannot take applications. The forms are on the Dronespace downloads page. No official page states whether a visiting recreational pilot is eligible; the document list accepts a passport copy, which is suggestive of a non-resident route but is not a statement.

    Eligibility not stated · ACGV tariff post 87: 177 EUR for a single case or 496 EUR for several, plus the 92 EUR official-act charge, all plus 20 per cent VAT, plus charges under the Gebührengesetz · About two weeks of lead time for submission; no decision time published

    • Exact project description
    • Flight period
    • Scale plan with the flight area and the barrier measures
    • Maximum flight speed in m/s
    • Intended flight altitude
    • Planned number of take-offs
    • Operator registration
    • Copies of the pilots' identity documents (passport, driving licence or identity card)
    • Insurance policy for 750,000 SDR

    Open the official page

  10. Step 10

    Military zone: apply to the Ministry of Defence

    Dronespace cannot clear military zones. Apply separately to the Bundesministerium für Landesverteidigung or to the locally responsible military flight control, using the military application form from the Dronespace downloads page.

    Eligibility not stated · Not published · Not published

    • Military application form and annexes

    Open the official page

  11. Step 11

    Check nature-conservation law separately, it is not on the map

    Austro Control states that the map shows no information about additional rules such as nature-conservation requirements, and that nature reserves are not in the system at all. Ask the competent bodies, which are often the Land governments, for the area you intend to fly in.

    Eligibility not stated · Not published · Not published

    • As the Land authority requires

    Open the official page

  12. Step 12

    Neusiedler See: two permissions, not one

    For the aviation side, LO R 16 needs an Austro Control authorisation except in August and September. For the nature-conservation side, the permission of the Burgenland Landesregierung is required before any flight, all year round.

    Eligibility not stated · ACGV tariff post 87 for the aviation permit; the Burgenland permission's cost is not published · Not published for either

    • As each authority requires

    Open the official page

  13. Step 13

    Get the landowner's consent for take-off and landing

    Airspace use in flight is free under section 2 of the Luftfahrtgesetz, but that covers only the overflight. Take-off and landing need the agreement of the owner of the ground.

    Visitors eligible · None · Immediate

    Open the official page

  14. Step 14

    At the border, if you live outside the EU

    A drone travels as personal travel equipment, admitted duty-free for the duration of the stay and not to be passed on. For very valuable items customs may require a declaration on entry so that re-export can be supervised. Carry purchase receipts for used equipment that looks new.

    Visitors eligible · None · At the border

    • Purchase receipts
    • A customs declaration if required

    Open the official page

The numbers

The engine's inputs, each with the verdict our verification pass gave it and the sources it rests on.

FieldWhat the pages sayVerdictSources
May a visiting pilot fly at allYes, after a registration or a notification.No Austro Control authorisation is needed for an open-category flight provided the operator is registered, insured to 750,000 SDR, the pilot holds the competency certificate over 250 g, visual line of sight is kept, 120 m is not exceeded, no dangerous goods are carried and nothing is dropped.confirmed on the cited pageS6S7S30
EU or EEA registration recognisedYesAustria's exempt set is literally the EU member states plus Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein, which is wider than Switzerland's own registration answer. Such an operator must register in the state of main residence and cannot register in Austria at all.confirmed on the cited pageS1S3S4
UK registration recognisedNoThe UK is outside the EU, Switzerland, Iceland, Norway and Liechtenstein set, so a UK-resident operator is a third-country operator. Austro Control states the registration and competency duty applies to short stays by third-country operators too.confirmed on the cited pageS1S3S4
US registration recognisedNoSame third-country route as the UK.confirmed on the cited pageS1S3S4
Local registrationRequired from 250 g. Cost: 46.80 EUR. Non-residents: Name, address, date of birth, e-mail address, telephone number and the insurance policy number. Payment is by Visa or Mastercard credit or debit card, entered as the 16-digit card number. No official page states which identity document a foreign applicant must present, or whether an Austrian address or telephone number is required..Valid for three years; renewal costs the same and keeps the number. Two sub-250 g triggers sit below the threshold: any sensor able to capture personal data, which means every camera drone outside the EU toy Directive, and more than 80 joules of kinetic energy on impact. A third-country operator may register in Austria only if Austria is the first state of intended UAS operation and the applicant is over 18. The research brief's 39.60 EUR is wrong: the ACGV tariff post 59d is 39 EUR net and the schedule adds 20 per cent VAT.confirmed on the cited pageS1S2S3S4S5S23
Remote IDMandatory since 1 January 2024 for every UAS in the specific category and for open-category UAS labelled C1, C2, C3, C5 or C6. The operator stores the 16-digit operator registration number and the 3-digit PIN from the registration in the drone's remote-identification system. Retrofit modules may be fitted. Drones under 250 g (C0) and C4 drones with only simple flight controls are exempt.The research brief reported no separate Austrian Remote ID requirement and the query's premise was 'C1 and above'. Both are wrong: Austria publishes a Remote ID page, the set includes C5 and C6, and C4 with simple controls is exempt.confirmed on the cited pageS9
InsuranceMandatory, at least 750,000 SDR (Sonderziehungsrechte) · Operating a drone in Austria, at the same threshold as registration, so a sub-250 g camera drone is includedStated in IMF Special Drawing Rights, not euros, on four pages in German and English. Both research passes reported the minimum cover as unknown. Insurance documents are not uploaded at registration; only the policy number is entered. Austro Control notes that other EU countries may require something different.confirmed on the cited pageS3S4S6S7S17
Altitude ceiling120 mMeasured above ground. Exceeding it moves the flight into the specific category.confirmed on the cited pageS6S7S1
Distance from peopleBy subcategory. A1 is for drones under 900 g and allows uninvolved persons to be overflown only with a C0 drone under 250 g. A2 is for drones up to 4 kg and requires a minimum 30 m from uninvolved persons. A3 is for drones up to 25 kg, at least 150 m from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas, with no uninvolved persons in the flight area. Mere attendance at an event does not make a person involved: participation must be voluntary, the risks understood and safety instructions given.confirmed on the cited pageS8S1
Line of sightRequired. There must be uninterrupted visual contact with the drone without technical aids. Flying beyond visual line of sight is a specific-category operation. A declared visual-line-of-sight flight geometry larger than 1.5 by 1.5 km is rejected automatically by the Dronespace flight-plan system.confirmed on the cited pageS6S7S20S1
NightNot establishedNot established. No Austrian official page opened by either research pass or by this pass states a night rule, permissive or restrictive. The EU baseline was deliberately not used to fill the field.not confirmedS1
Class marksClass identification labels C0 to C4, mandatory on every new device placed on the market since 1 January 2024, with an information sheet on operator duties attached by the manufacturer. A drone without a label may still be flown in the open category: up to 249 g in subcategory A1, everything else in A3. C5 and C6 exist and carry the Remote ID duty. The EASA IAM Hub lists the models that already hold a label.The transition period for drones that are not CE class compliant, and for self-built drones, ended on 1 January 2024.confirmed on the cited pageS10S1S6S29S31
FPVNot establishedNot established. No Austrian official page states an FPV rule. The only wording that touches it is the visual-line-of-sight requirement of uninterrupted visual contact without technical aids, which is not an FPV rule and is not read as one here.not confirmedS6
Commercial useNo split by purpose. The open category covers most hobby pilots and commercial work flown within visual line of sight alike. Exceeding any open-category limit moves the operation into the specific category, which needs an Austro Control operating authorisation with a SORA risk assessment, or a declaration where a published standard scenario fits, or a light UAS operator certificate.confirmed on the cited pageS6S20S1S30

Every rule we could confirm

Grouped by what they govern. A general rule decides the country's colour for a profile; a situational one applies in a place, a zone or a season.

Registration

Remote ID

Insurance

Minimum age

Permits

Airspace zones

Parks and protected areas

Towns and cities

Altitude

Distance from people

Line of sight

Dropping objects

Hazardous materials

Customs and import

Parks and protected areas

Who decides, what they decided, and whether there is a way in.

Where the no-fly zones are published

The authority's own map is the one that counts on the day; an app is a convenience, not a source.

There is no single radius rule. Control zones around Graz, Innsbruck, Klagenfurt, Linz, Salzburg and Vienna-Schwechat need air traffic control consent through a flight plan; airport zones around the same airports need an Austro Control authorisation under section 18 (4) LVR 2014; aerodromes without an airport zone are flyable only outside their operating hours. A UAS under 250 g flown below 30 m is exempt from the control-zone consent and from the restricted-area authorisation.

Official map
www.dronespace.at
Dataset
www.austrocontrol.at · JSON in ED-269, delivered as a ZIP per version
Licence
No open-data licence. Austro Control asserts copyright in every version of the dataset, possibly alongside third parties, and states that providing it grants neither those rights nor any other right of use beyond the frame set out in the disclaimer. Austrian law applies, with the Handelsgericht Wien as the forum.
Updated
No fixed schedule. The dataset is versioned with validity dates: 25 versions between 15 May 2025 and 1 October 2026, the current one running from 1 October 2026 until further notice. Austro Control warns that short-notice changes are possible at any time and offers e-mail notification through its Push Service.
Apps named
Austro Control Dronespace (iOS and Android)

Customs and the border

Declaration
A declaration is required for goods not intended for personal use, for goods acquired outside the EU above the allowances, and for goods subject to import prohibitions or restrictions; where a customs post has red and green channels those goods go through the red channel. A traveller resident outside the EU may use travel equipment serving their travel needs duty-free for the duration of the stay and may not pass it on, and where very valuable items are involved the customs office may require a declaration on entry so that re-export can be supervised. A traveller resident in the EU may re-import equipment taken out within three years duty-free, provided it was not altered abroad, and the Ministry advises carrying purchase receipts for used goods that look new.
Import authorisation
Not established
Radio conformity
Not established for drones. The Fernmeldebüro, subordinate to the competent federal minister, enforces administrative penalty provisions and decides applications for type approval of terminal equipment and radio equipment. No drone-specific conformity rule appears on any RTR page opened, and no Austrian page states what a traveller must do with a drone bought outside the EU.

On the ground

What pilots, police and the press report actually happening. This is evidence about behaviour, not law: it never changes the status above, and it is dated and linked so you can judge it yourself.

Patchy enforcement7 confirmed cases, from 12 dated reports read · 2016-09-11 to 2025-12-30 · practice pass 8 October 2026

Nobody patrols: the state auditor found no routine drone checks, and charges follow an event, a complaint, a crash or a rescue-helicopter conflict. Four located fines run 600 to 1,300 EUR and one was annulled. Nothing confirmed on customs, on rangers, or on five of the six national parks.

How people fly
The located cases say more about what brings a flight to notice than about where people fly. Four of the five penalised flights carried a camera and were close to someone: the airspace in front of a neighbouring apartment balcony, an event site, a restriction zone inside Vienna, and a hunt in a protected area. The fifth was a 14-year-old on holiday who launched from his hotel room balcony at a ski resort and flew several hundred metres down the piste by camera view, outside visual line of sight. On volume, Austro Control reports about ten drone sightings a year at Vienna airport, seen by pilots on approach and reported onward.
Police and rangers
Nobody patrols. The Rechnungshof found no systematic or sample checking of drone operations in the audited period by either Austro Control or the district authorities, and recorded that the police charges which did exist arose from flights over events, from complaints by people who felt their privacy invaded or themselves endangered, or after a crash. The cases add a fourth trigger: getting in the way of a rescue helicopter. Police did stop a pilot at the scene once, in Vienna in February 2019, and that penalty was later annulled. Over the audited period the police had no power under the Luftfahrtgesetz to intervene in a drone offence at all, and the auditor found charges filed by officers who on its reading should not have acted; the district authority competent to punish the offence is never at the scene. Since 2026-09-01 a drone that is the subject of an administrative offence can be declared forfeited under section 169 of the Luftfahrtgesetz as amended, a confiscation power that did not exist before. No case applying it has surfaced. No park ranger stop is confirmed anywhere in Austria.
At the border
No usable report.
Fines actually reported
Four amounts are on the record, all from primary documents, and all far below the statutory ceiling. A camera drone flown in front of a neighbouring apartment balcony in Tyrol in September 2016 drew 1,100 EUR plus 16 hours substitute imprisonment, upheld on appeal in July 2017. A camera drone flown by an event site in Carinthia in September 2017 drew the same 1,100 EUR and 16 hours, upheld in March 2019 with 220 EUR of appeal costs added. A test flight inside the Vienna restriction zone in February 2019 drew 600 EUR plus 60 EUR of costs from the Magistrat der Stadt Wien, and the Verwaltungsgericht Wien annulled it and discontinued the proceedings in August 2020. Filming a hunt in the Kanisfluh landscape protection area in Vorarlberg in August 2022 left 1,300 EUR payable in total after an unsuccessful appeal in June 2024. No arrest and no confiscation of a drone is confirmed anywhere in Austria.

The law's own penalty schedule is separate: Not established, 3 published fine ranges below.

Where reports cluster

  • Hohe Tauern National Park, Tyrolean part

    The park acts on paper, not on the trail. The one located private drone permit in the core zone, at the Schlatenkees glacier tongue on the Grossvenediger, was granted to an applicant resident in Germany on 2021-08-30 against a wildlife-biology opinion that did not support it, and was revoked in full six weeks later on 2021-10-14 after the Landesumweltanwalt appealed. A 249 g aircraft counted as an aircraft for the nature-protection ban. No ranger stop is on record, and the one press piece that looked like a Hohe Tauern enforcement story turned out to be about Berchtesgaden in Bavaria, mentioning the Austrian park only to say private flights are banned there too.

  • Landschaftsschutzgebiet Kanisfluh, Vorarlberg

    The only confirmed Austrian penalty for flying in a protected area, and it survived appeal. The charges came under the protection area's own ordinance rather than aviation law: causing unnecessary noise disturbance with the drone's rotors, and walking off marked paths to do it. 1,300 EUR payable. The pilot was German and was filming a hunt, so this is not a recreational case.

  • Gerlitzen ski area, Carinthia

    The only confirmed case anywhere in Austria involving a visiting recreational pilot. A 14-year-old German holidaymaker launched from his hotel room balcony on 2025-12-30 and flew down the piste by camera view while a rescue helicopter was landing; a second helicopter was warned by radio and changed course. The trigger was the conflict, not a check. The drone was neither registered nor insured and a charge went to the Bezirkshauptmannschaft Villach.

  • Vienna, the Flugverkehrsbeschraenkungsgebiet

    The city does issue penalties inside the restriction zone, and a police officer did approach a pilot at the scene in February 2019, but the one located penalty of 600 EUR plus costs was annulled by the Verwaltungsgericht Wien in August 2020 and the proceedings discontinued. One case in the whole record, and the outcome went the pilot's way.

  • Vienna airport, Schwechat

    About ten drone sightings a year, reported by pilots on approach and passed to the authorities, and no case in recent years where flight operations had to be stopped, diverted or adjusted because of a drone. No prosecution arising from the airport zone was located. A formal airspace closure would be a matter for the Interior Ministry, the transport ministry and Austro Control together.

  • Hallstatt

    A self-declared no drone zone run on three information boards and an appeal to visitors' goodwill, after residents complained about tourist drones. Nine years of coverage and no charge, fine, confiscation or police action on record. The village asks rather than enforces.

Dated reports

  • 2016-09-11 · Tyrol, a Gemeinde, airspace in front of an apartment balcony · official

    A DJI Phantom 3 Professional with a 12 megapixel camera flown at 19:05 without an Austro Control permit. Under the pre-EASA Austrian regime, carrying a camera took the flight out of the recreational exemption and made the permit compulsory.

    The Bezirkshauptmannschaft fined him 1,100 EUR plus 16 hours substitute imprisonment on 2017-03-09. The Landesverwaltungsgericht Tirol dismissed the appeal on 2017-07-19 after a public hearing, correcting only the wording of the charge. report

  • 2017-09-08 · Carinthia, a Marktgemeinde, by an event site · official

    A class 1 unmanned aircraft flown between 15:00 and 15:10 without an Austro Control permit, again because photographs and film were taken with it.

    The Bezirkshauptmannschaft fined him 1,100 EUR plus 16 hours substitute imprisonment on 2018-03-02. The Landesverwaltungsgericht Kaernten dismissed the appeal on 2019-03-28 and added 220 EUR of appeal costs. report

  • 2019-02-08 · Vienna, inside the Flugverkehrsbeschraenkungsgebiet Wien · official

    A test flight with a drone belonging to a guest of a restaurant, under 79 joules, without the authorisation the restriction zone required. A police officer approached the pilot at the scene and pointed it out; by the pilot's account in the judgment the officer was friendly and helpful.

    The Magistrat der Stadt Wien fined him 600 EUR plus 60 EUR of costs on 2020-04-15. The Verwaltungsgericht Wien annulled the penalty and discontinued the proceedings on 2020-08-26, with no costs against him. report

  • 2021-08-30 · Hohe Tauern National Park core zone, Schlatenkees glacier tongue, Grossvenediger, Tyrol · official

    The Bezirkshauptmannschaft Lienz granted an applicant resident in Germany a nature-conservation permit for one private DJI Mavic Mini flight at 249 g, against an official wildlife-biology opinion that did not support the project. The Tyrolean Landesumweltanwalt appealed on 2021-09-24, arguing the park act bans all aircraft, manned or unmanned.

    The permit was revoked in full by the Bezirkshauptmannschaft Lienz on 2021-10-14, upholding the appeal. The only located private drone permit inside the park lasted six weeks. report

  • 2022-08-16 · Vorarlberg, Landschaftsschutzgebiet Kanisfluh · official

    A German drone pilot accompanied a hunt as cameraman, walking off marked paths and filming the shoot from the air for social media. He was charged on two counts under the protection area's own ordinance: going off marked paths, and causing unnecessary noise disturbance through the drone's rotors.

    The Bezirkshauptmannschaft Bregenz issued its penalty decision on 2023-06-06. The Landesverwaltungsgericht Vorarlberg dismissed the appeal on 2024-06-18, leaving 1,300 EUR payable in total within 14 days. report

  • 2025-09-08 · Tyrol, near a dwelling, a public road and a public hiking path · official

    A man fired a shotgun twice at a drone flying over his land, hitting and damaging it. He argued he was defending his animals, which he said the drone had panicked, and that he had checked nobody else was at risk.

    The Bezirkshauptmannschaft banned him from possessing weapons and ammunition on 2025-10-01. The Landesverwaltungsgericht Tirol dismissed his appeal on 2026-03-12. The drone's pilot does not appear in the judgment as a defendant. report

  • 2025-12-30 · Gerlitzen ski area, Carinthia, by the Neugartenabfahrt · press

    A 14-year-old German holidaymaker launched from his hotel room balcony at about 13:10 and flew several hundred metres along the piste using the camera view, so outside visual line of sight, while rescue helicopter ARA 3 was on the ground for a rescue and out of sight of the alpine police officer directing it. Rescue helicopter ALPIN 1, overflying on its return leg, was warned by radio in time and changed its flight path. The drone was neither registered nor insured.

    A charge under the Luftfahrtgesetz went to the Bezirkshauptmannschaft Villach. No amount was reported and the outcome is not public. report

What the law says it costs

Published penalty ranges. What has actually been charged, where anyone reported it, is in the section above.

OffenceRangeSources
Operating a drone contrary to the applicable rulesAn administrative offence under section 169 of the Luftfahrtgesetz, covering breaches of the Austrian Aviation Act, of national ordinances and of the applicable EU drone rules. Depending on the nature and severity of the infringement, the competent district administrative authority may impose fines of up to 22,000 EUR.S1S27
Holding more than one operator registrationA breach of Article 14 of Regulation (EU) 2019/947. No tariff is stated; Austro Control asks which numbers to cancel and recommends keeping the most recent one.S1
Withdrawing a permit application after the documents have been examinedACGV tariff post 102: one third of the fee for the official act, plus the 92 EUR official-act charge. Withdrawal before the submitted documents have been examined attracts no fee.S23

Confiscation: A drone that is the subject of an administrative offence can be declared forfeited under the conditions of section 17 of the Verwaltungsstrafgesetz 1991. The power is new: the sentence is absent from the version of section 169 that ran to 31 August 2026 and was added by BGBl. I Nr. 80/2026, in force 1 September 2026.

Criminal liability: Not established beyond the administrative route. Section 169 of the Luftfahrtgesetz is an administrative-penalty provision enforced by the district administrative authority, and no Austrian criminal provision for drone operation appears on any official page opened.

What we could not confirm

Printed rather than hidden. A brief that answers everything has usually guessed somewhere, and a gap here is a real gap in the official pages or a page we could not reach.

Sources that disagree

  1. Night flight. No Austrian official page opened by either research pass or by this one states a night rule, permissive or restrictive. The EU baseline was deliberately not used to fill the field.
  2. FPV, with or without a spotter. No Austrian official page states a rule.
  3. Austria-specific lithium battery carriage rules. None found; airline and dangerous-goods rules apply by default, but no Austrian page says so.
  4. Registration processing time for a third-country applicant. No official page states one.
  5. Which identity documents a foreign applicant must present at registration, and whether an Austrian address or telephone number is accepted or required. The data fields collected are published; the acceptance rules are not.
  6. Decision time for a zone operating authorisation. Only the two-week submission lead time is published.
  7. Whether a visiting recreational pilot is eligible for a zone operating authorisation, stated in terms. The application document list accepts a passport copy, which is suggestive but is not a statement of eligibility.
  8. Confiscation powers. No official page opened states one.
  9. Any Austrian criminal provision for drone operation beyond the section 169 Luftfahrtgesetz administrative offence.
  10. A drone-specific customs declaration duty or import authorisation. Only the generic travel-equipment rule was found, and it does not name drones.
  11. Radio conformity for a drone bought outside the EU. The RTR page the gap pass cited is an institutional map and says nothing about drones.
  12. The Hohe Tauern National Park regimes in Salzburg and Carinthia, and therefore the rule at the Grossglockner. Only the Tyrolean national-park act was reached, through an appeal document rather than the statute.
  13. Gesäuse National Park. No park or Styrian page was reached.
  14. Any Land nature-conservation permit path, fee, form or processing time anywhere in Austria, including the Burgenland permission for the Neusiedler See, whose necessity is confirmed but whose procedure is not.
  15. Municipal rules for Hallstatt, Vienna, Zell am See and the Dachstein. No municipal page was reached.
  16. Whether any Austrian rule addresses mountain rescue or helicopter activity in alpine airspace. Nothing on any official page opened does. The only rescue-related wording found runs the other way: recognised rescue and emergency organisations may fly near an aerodrome during its operating hours when acting within their statutory tasks. The absence is recorded as an absence rather than inferred into a rule.
  17. Whether ACGV tariff post 59b, the 331 EUR cross-border entry of foreign unmanned aircraft under section 24k of the Luftfahrtgesetz, ever applies to a visiting recreational pilot in the open category. Section 24k sits in the national regime for class 1 unmanned aircraft and no page opened connects it to an open-category visitor, so it is recorded as a fee-schedule line only.
  18. Manufacturer geofencing behaviour, for example DJI GEO zones. No official page mentions it; the research brief's note is editorial.
  19. Any dated enforcement incident. Neither legal research pass retrieved one; the practice pass covers that ground separately.

What changed, and when

Dated changes to the rules, newest first.

  1. 1 October 2026

    Version 25.0 of the geographic UAS zones dataset takes effect until further notice, amending the security zones.

    S24

  2. 15 May 2025

    Extensive amendment of the Luftverkehrsregeln. Existing geographic zones are adjusted and new zones created, and the zones under section 18b LVR 2014 become downloadable as JSON files.

    S29S30S21

  3. 1 January 2024

    Remote ID becomes mandatory for the specific category and for open-category C1, C2, C3, C5 and C6.

    S9

  4. 1 January 2024

    Class identification labels become mandatory for every new device placed on the market, and the transition period for drones that are not CE class compliant and for self-built drones ends: up to 249 g they may still fly in A1 without a label, everything else only in A3.

    S10S1S6

  5. 31 December 2020

    Regulation (EU) 2019/947 becomes directly applicable in all EU member states, and the Austrian operator registration duty begins.

    S1S29S30

Checked 8 October 2026. Newer than that? Look here:

Rules move between our checks. The official pages publish the change; the community pages are where someone notices it first.

Official pages

Where pilots report

Sources

Every page this brief rests on, with the date we opened it and, where the page carries one, the date printed on the document itself.

  1. S1official

    FAQ

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Je nach Art und Schwere des Verstoßes können durch die zuständige Bezirksverwaltungsbehörde Geldstrafen von bis zu 22.000 Euro verhängt werden.

    Rule page, German, the largest single page on the site. No date is printed on it; the research pass's 2024 and 2025 stamps are search-index crawl dates. The research pass cited it with a search-engine tracking suffix (faq&rut=c707cc...); the clean URL serves the same page. It also carries the registration fee, the operator and pilot minimum ages, the A2 examination fee, the map colour legend, the flight-plan rules and the third-country answer.

  2. S2official

    Allgemeine Informationen - Registrierung

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Die Registrierung kostet 46,80 Euro und ist für 3 Jahre gültig.

    Rule page, German. The research brief cited this page for a fee of 39.60 EUR; the page says 46.80 EUR. No date printed.

  3. S3official

    Voraussetzungen

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Sie Ihren Hauptwohnsitz [...] in Österreich haben oder Sie als Drittlandbetreiber:in (außerhalb der EU-Mitgliedsstaaten, Schweiz, Island, Norwegen und Liechtenstein) den ersten UAS-Betrieb in Österreich planen.

    Rule page, German. The single most load-bearing page for a visiting pilot and neither research pass cited it; reached by following the Registrierung navigation on cited pages. It also carries the age-18 requirement and the 750,000 SDR insurance floor. No date printed.

  4. S4official

    Requirements

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    The minimum coverage amount must be at least 750,000 Special Drawing Rights (SDR).

    The English sibling of S3, reached from the English navigation. It carries the same three prerequisites in English, which is also the evidence that the process is documented in English for a visiting pilot. No date printed.

  5. S5official

    General Information - Registration

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    The registration fee is €46.80, and the registration remains valid for 3 years.

    The English sibling of S2, reached from the English navigation. Independent English confirmation of the fee and of the three registration triggers. No date printed.

  6. S6official

    Allgemeine Informationen - Open

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Alle betriebenen Drohnen müssen über einen ausreichenden Versicherungsschutz verfügen. (Deckungssumme gem. Luftfahrtgesetz mindestens 750.000 Sonderziehungsrechte)

    Rule page, German, reached from the cited site's EU-Regulativ navigation. It is the compact list of open-category duties: registration, insurance, competency, visual line of sight, 120 m, no dangerous goods, nothing dropped, landowner consent under section 2 LFG. No date printed.

  7. S7official

    General Informationen - Open

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Altitude Limit: Maximum flight altitude is 120 meters (400 feet) above ground level.

    The English sibling of S6. No date printed.

  8. S8official

    Kategorien

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    In der Unterkategorie A2 dürfen Drohnen bis 4 kg betrieben werden, beim Betrieb ist ein Mindestabstand von 30 m zu unbeteiligten Personen einzuhalten.

    Rule page, German. The only page reached that states the A1, A2 and A3 weights and separation distances; neither research pass cited it and both left the separation distances unknown. It also links a checklist PDF for common drone models. No date printed.

  9. S9official

    Remote Identification

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Seit dem 1. Januar 2024 ist die Remote-ID für Drohnenbetreiber:innen Pflicht. Sie gilt für Drohnen in der „Specific“-Kategorie und in der „Open“-Kategorie mit den Klassifizierungslabels C1, C2, C3, C5 und C6.

    Rule page, German. Neither research pass cited it, and both reported that no separate Austrian Remote ID requirement was established. No date printed.

  10. S10official

    Class Identification Label

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Seit 01.01.2024 müssen alle neuen Geräte die am Markt angeboten werden über ein Class Identification Label verfügen.

    Rule page, German. It points to the EASA IAM Hub as the list of labelled models. No date printed.

  11. S11official

    Allgemeine Informationen - Geografische Zone

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Naturschutzgebiete sind derzeit nicht im Austro Control Dronespace System abgebildet. [...] Sollten Sie einen Flug in einem Naturschutzgebiet planen, informieren Sie sich bitte bei den zuständigen Stellen (oftmals die Landesregierungen).

    Rule page, German, cited by the research pass only for the sentence about fees. It is the index of every zone type, civil and military, it states the ACGV fee basis, and it is where the link to the geographic UAS zones dataset (S24) was followed from. No date printed.

  12. S12official

    General Information - Geo Zones

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Nature reserves are currently not displayed in the Austro Control Dronespace system.

    The English sibling of S11. It names the designating ministry as the Federal Ministry for Climate Action where the German page names the Bundesministerium für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur; the German is current and the English is a stale translation of a renamed ministry. No date printed.

  13. S13official

    Kontrollzonen

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    UAS, mit einer höchstzulässigen Startmasse von weniger als 250 g, welche bis zu einer maximalen Flughöhe von 30 Meter über Grund genutzt werden, sind von dieser Zustimmungspflicht ausgenommen

    Rule page, German. It is also the page that says control zones are shown in light blue, which conflicts with the FAQ legend. No date printed.

  14. S14official

    Flugplatzzonen

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Sollten Sie Ihre Drohne innerhalb einer dieser Flugplatzzonen fliegen wollen, müssen Sie den Vorgaben des § 18 (4) Luftverkehrsregeln 2014 vorab eine Betriebsbewilligung seitens Austro Control einholen.

    Rule page, German. It says five international airports and then lists six; the names are carried, the count is not. No date printed.

  15. S15official

    Flugbeschränkungsgebiete

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Im August und September ist daher für UAS-Flüge innerhalb von LO R 16 keine Betriebsbewilligung der Austro Control erforderlich. [...] die naturschutzrechtlichen Bestimmungen des Neusiedler Sees [bleiben] zu jeder Zeit gültig.

    Rule page, German. It carries LO R 15, LO R 16 and LO R 18, the sub-250 g exemption, the Burgenland permission, the temporary restricted areas and the four drone test areas LO R 9 to LO R 12. Neither research pass cited it. No date printed.

  16. S16official

    Flugplätze ohne Flugplatzzonen

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Der Betrieb von unbemannten Luftfahrzeugen (UAS) in einem bestimmten Umkreis um Flugplätze ohne eigene Flugplatzzone ist grundsätzlich nur außerhalb der Betriebszeiten erlaubt.

    Rule page, German. The radius itself is not given on the page, only the rule; the zones show as orange circles in the app. No date printed.

  17. S17official

    Antrag stellen

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Um einen kostenpflichten Antrag einzubringen, ist das erforderliche Antragsformular etwa 2 Wochen im Vorhinein [...] zu senden. [...] Ausweiskopien der Piloten (Reisepass, Führerschein oder Personalausweis)

    Rule page, German, and the only source for the zone-permit document list and lead time. Neither research pass cited it. No date printed.

  18. S18official

    Flugplan abgeben

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Bitte beachten Sie, dass der Flugplan erst als aktiv gilt, wenn er den grünen „Fliegt“-Status erreicht hat. In der Kontrollzone bestätigt der Erhalt des „Fliegt“-Status die Startfreigabe der Flugverkehrskontrollstelle.

    Rule page, German. The research pass cited it for the sentence that a flight plan is mandatory only inside control zones, which is on the FAQ rather than here. No date printed.

  19. S19official

    Informationen zum Austro Control Dronespace System

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Kartenmaterial immer aktuell, basierend auf den offiziellen Luftfahrtkarten von Austro Control

    Rule page, German. It is the source for the three-step account flow: create an account, confirm the e-mail address, complete the operator account. No date printed.

  20. S20official

    Allgemeine Informationen - Specific

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Wenn eine der Vorgaben der „Open“ Kategorie nicht erfüllt ist, fällt der Flug in die Kategorie „Specific“ und vor dem Betrieb ist eine Bewilligung von Austro Control einzuholen.

    Rule page, German, reached from the cited site's navigation. It states that beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight, drones over 25 kg and drones over 4 kg in built-up areas are specific-category operations, and that areas needing separate permission still need it after a specific authorisation. No date printed.

  21. S21official

    dronespace.at, die Austro Control Drohnenplattform

    Austro Control · document dated 2025-05-15 · opened 2026-10-08

    Mit Inkrafttreten der LVR Novelle am 15.05.2025 stehen für Sie die Geo-Zonen nach §18b LVR 2014 als JSON Files zum Download bereit.

    Rule page, German. The document date is the date printed on the news item itself, not on the page as a whole.

  22. S22official

    Downloads

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Gebührenübersicht unbemannte Luftfahrzeuge

    Index page, German, reached from the cited site's navigation. It is where the application forms for restricted areas, airport zones, military security zones, the specific category and the LUC live, alongside the fee schedule (S23) and the consolidated texts of Regulations (EU) 2019/947 and 2019/945. No date printed.

  23. S23official

    Gebührenübersicht unbemannte Luftfahrzeuge

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Online-Registrierung eines Betreibers von UAS gemäß Art. 14 der Durchführungsverordnung (EU) Nr. 2019/947 / Gebühr (+ 20% USt.): € 39

    Fee schedule PDF reproducing the Austro Control Gebührenverordnung (ACGV), BGBl. Nr. 2/1994 in the version of BGBl. II Nr. 65/2026, read with the Read tool. The table header reads Gebühr (+ 20% USt.), which is why the 39 EUR tariff post becomes the 46.80 EUR Austro Control publishes. No date is printed on the face of the document; the file is named Gebührenübersicht 2026. Neither research pass cited it, and both reported that no fine or fee schedule could be found.

  24. S24official

    Geografische UAS-Gebiete - Österreich

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Der Datensatz der geografischen UAS-Zonen wird als JSON-Datenformat ED-269 bereitgestellt.

    Dataset distribution page, German, reached by following the Geografische Zonen link on S11. It is the only page on a domain neither research pass reached. It carries the Article 15 (3) legal basis, the copyright disclaimer, the Push Service and a dated table of 25 dataset versions between 15 May 2025 and 1 October 2026. No date printed on the page itself.

  25. S25official

    Austro Control Dronespace, sicher und einfach fliegen mit Drohnen in Österreich

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Der Nachweis ist bei jedem Flug entweder elektronisch (etwa am Smartphone) oder in ausgedruckter Form mitzuführen.

    Two-page information folder, German, read with the Read tool. No date is printed on its face; the file is named dronespace Folder 2023. It is the only source for the duty to carry the competency certificate on every flight, and it names Naturschutzgebiete among the areas needing separate prior authorisation.

  26. S26official

    Registrieren

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Um sich als Betreiber:in zu registrieren müssen Sie im Austro Control Dronespace System zunächst ein Benutzer:innenkonto erstellen.

    Procedure page, German; the research pass cited this URL twice, as its sources 13 and 15. No date printed.

  27. S27official

    Dronespace, English landing page

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Depending on the nature and severity of the infringement, the competent district administrative authority may impose fines of up to EUR 22,000.

    Rule page, English. It carries the English-language FAQ, which is how the 22,000 EUR ceiling and the 120 m limit are quotable in English rather than back-translated. No date printed.

  28. S28official

    Austro Control Dronespace System

    Austro Control · opened 2026-10-08

    Austro Control Dronespace supports UAS operators and pilots at every stage of the flight.

    The English sibling of S19, cited by the research pass as its source 8. It lists the system's functions in English. No date printed.

  29. S29official

    EU-Rechtsrahmen und nationale Regelungen für Drohnen im Überblick

    oesterreich.gv.at, content by the Bundesministerium für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur · document dated 2026-01-01 · opened 2026-10-08

    Mit 15. Mai 2025 erfolgte eine umfangreiche Änderung der LVR. Bestehende Zonen wurden angepasst und neue Zonen eingerichtet.

    Rule page, German, on the government portal. The document date is printed on the page as Letzte Aktualisierung: 01.01.2026. It is the source for the 31 December 2020 applicability date, the Article 15 basis of the Austrian geographic zones and the drone-licence duty from 250 g.

  30. S30official

    EU-Rechtsrahmen und nationale Regelungen für Drohnen im Überblick (syndication fragment)

    oesterreich.gv.at, content by the Bundesministerium für Innovation, Mobilität und Infrastruktur · document dated 2026-01-01 · opened 2026-10-08

    Beim Betrieb bzw. Flug von Drohnen ab 250 Gramm Abfluggewicht ist zudem ein Drohnenführerschein verpflichtend.

    The same article as S29, served as a bare syndication fragment; the research pass cited both URLs as if they were different sources. Carried separately so the research pass's citation stays traceable.

  31. S31official

    Drones (EU Drone Regulation)

    oesterreich.gv.at Editorial Staff · document dated 2025-03-07 · opened 2026-10-08

    Drone categories “open”, “specific”, “certified”

    Hub page, English, marked by the publisher as a not-certified translation. It is navigation rather than substance: it links the categories, registration, licence and specific-category approval without stating a rule, which is why the research pass's two citations of it carry almost nothing. Last update printed as 07/03/2025.

  32. S32official

    Bescheidbeschwerde, Drohnenflug im Nationalpark Hohe Tauern

    Büro Landesumweltanwalt, Land Tirol · document dated 2021-09-24 · opened 2026-10-08

    sind die Durchführung von Außenanlandungen bzw. Außenabflügen mit Luftfahrzeugen im gesamten National Park Hohe Tauern verboten, wobei kein Unterschied zwischen [...] bemannten oder unbemannten Luftfahrzeugen gemacht wird.

    Individual decision document, not a rule page: it is the Tyrolean Landesumweltanwalt's appeal against a permit granted by the Bezirkshauptmannschaft Lienz on 30 August 2021 for one private DJI Mavic Mini flight at the Schlatenkees glacier tongue in the park core zone. Read with the Read tool, eight pages. The document's own date is Innsbruck, 24 September 2021; the 2023/09 in the URL is the upload path. The research brief read it as a park rule page and did not record that the authority granted the permit, that the applicant was a private person resident in Germany, or that the outcome of the appeal is not in the document.

  33. S33official

    Welche Waren müssen beim Zoll deklariert werden?

    Bundesministerium für Finanzen · opened 2026-10-08

    Als Reisender mit Nicht-EU-Wohnsitz dürfen Sie die Ihrem Reisebedarf dienende Ausrüstung bei der Einreise ebenso abgabenfrei für die Dauer Ihres Aufenthaltes in der EU verwenden.

    Rule page, German. The gap pass quoted only the opening sentence and concluded nothing was established; the travel-equipment section further down is the rule that actually governs a visiting pilot's drone. The page does not name drones anywhere. No date is printed on it; the gap pass's 3 October 2026 is a search-index crawl stamp.

  34. S34official

    Regulierungsumfeld

    Rundfunk und Telekom Regulierungs-GmbH (RTR) · opened 2026-10-08

    Dem Bundesminister ist das Fernmeldebüro unterstellt. Dieses ist unter anderem für die Vollziehung von Verwaltungsstrafbestimmungen sowie die Entscheidung über Anträge auf Typenzulassung von Endgeräten und Funkanlagen zuständig.

    Institutional map of the Austrian telecoms regulatory environment, not a rule page for equipment conformity. It does not mention drones anywhere, so it establishes who the regulator is and nothing about what a traveller must do. No date is printed on it; the gap pass's 31 October 2025 is a search-index crawl stamp.

  35. S35official

    Drohnen in der zivilen Luftfahrt, Reihe BUND 2020/2

    Rechnungshof Österreich · document dated 2020-01 · opened 2026-10-08

    Eine systematische oder stichprobenartige Kontrolle des Betriebs von Drohnen erfolgte im überprüften Zeitraum weder durch die Austro Control noch durch die Bezirksverwaltungsbehörden.

    The Court of Audit's report to parliament, GZ 004.658/011-PR3/19, published Vienna January 2020, audited period 2013 to 2017 with some figures to end 2018. The only published Austrian drone enforcement statistics found anywhere: 21 penalised violations reported to Austro Control over 2014 to 2017, and 20 police charges supplied by the Interior Ministry of which nine concerned foreign tourists. Four Landespolizeidirektionen had no figures at all, so 20 is a floor. 2.6 MB, 93 pages; a plain fetch returns binary, extract with pdftotext.

  36. S36press

    Kaum Fälle: Drohnensichtungen halten sich am Flughafen Wien bisher in Grenzen

    MeinBezirk Wien · document dated 2026-08-28 · opened 2026-10-08

    Am Flughafen Wien gab es in den jüngsten Jahren keinen derartigen Fall, bei dem der Flugbetrieb eingestellt bzw. umgeleitet oder wegen Drohnen angepasst werden musste

    Austro Control speaking on the record through regional press, and the nearest thing to a current official enforcement statement. Also gives the volume figure, rund zehn Sichtungen pro Jahr, reported by pilots on approach. Says nothing about customs or about penalties.

  37. S37press

    Drohnen im Anflug im Bezirk St. Veit: Zwischen Freizeitspaß und Gesetzesbruch

    MeinBezirk St. Veit · document dated 2026-09-03 · opened 2026-10-08

    Wenn sich Personen belästigt fühlen, weil eine Drohne über ihnen schwebt und man das Gefühl hat ausgespäht zu werden, sollte man das bei der Polizei zur Anzeige bringen

    District police (Werner Ruhdorfer, Polizeiinspektion St. Veit) confirming the complaint-driven route independently of the 2020 audit. Carries no case count, no fine and no confiscation for the district, so it establishes the mechanism and nothing about volume or outcome.

  38. S38press

    Ärger über Drohnen von Touristen in Hallstatt

    Tiroler Tageszeitung · document dated 2017-08-30 · opened 2026-10-08

    Wir haben drei Info-Tafeln im Ort aufgestellt, auf denen wir unsere Gäste ersuchen, keine Flugdrohnen mehr zu verwenden

    Mayor Alexander Scheutz on Hallstatt's no drone zone. The oldest report used here and deliberately kept: it is the only primary source found for Hallstatt, and what it establishes is that the measure is an appeal to goodwill with no enforcement attached. Nine years on, no Hallstatt charge, fine or confiscation was located.

  39. S39press

    Kritik an Drohnenflügen über Nationalparks

    ORF Salzburg · document dated 2026-08-30 · opened 2026-10-08

    Ähnliche Regeln gelten im österreichischen Nationalpark Hohe Tauern. Auch dort sind private Drohnenflüge verboten.

    Opened because it looked like the Austrian park enforcement story and is not one. The incident it reports, an eagle bringing down a thermal-imaging drone, and its named official, Stefan Löffler, are both from Berchtesgaden in Bavaria; Hohe Tauern appears only as a one-line comparison. It says charges follow such flights but gives no Austrian case, count or amount. Recorded so the next pass does not re-open it expecting a case.

  40. S40press

    Drohne störte Rettungseinsatz im Skigebiet Gerlitzen

    Salzburger Nachrichten · document dated 2026-01-02 · opened 2026-10-08

    Die Drohne war laut Polizei weder registriert noch konnte eine Haftpflichtversicherung vorgewiesen werden.

    Published 2026-01-02; the event is 2025-12-30, read off the article body rather than the byline. The only confirmed case involving a visiting recreational pilot. Also the only located instance of Austrian registration and insurance being checked on a visitor, and it happened after the flight had interfered with two rescue helicopters.

  41. S41press

    Private Drohne behinderte Rettungseinsatz in Kärnten

    Dolomitenstadt · document dated 2026-01-04 · opened 2026-10-08

    Gegen den Jugendlichen wurde eine Anzeige nach dem Luftfahrtgesetz an die Bezirkshauptmannschaft Villach erstattet.

    Second independent report of the same 2025-12-30 Gerlitzen event, opened to confirm the date and the charge rather than take one outlet's word. Agrees on the age, the nationality, the hotel balcony launch, both helicopters and the missing registration and insurance, and is the clearer source for the charge itself.

  42. S42press

    Strafe nach umstrittener Jagd auf Kanisfluh

    ORF Vorarlberg · document dated 2026-03-19 · opened 2026-10-08

    Im Landschaftsschutzgebiet Kanisfluh sind Drohnenflüge unter 300 Meter verboten, um die Wildtiere nicht in Stress zu versetzen.

    Press account of the case decided in S43, published nearly two years after the event of 2022-08-16. Useful for the context the judgment anonymises, naming the Kanisfluh and the hunt, but its framing differs from the court's: the quoted 300 m rule is not what the pilot was charged with, and it reports the administrative fine as 1,100 EUR where the judgment's own arithmetic puts the fines at 1,000 EUR within a 1,300 EUR total. The 1,300 EUR is what both agree on.

  43. S43official

    LVwG-1-614/2023-R15, Erkenntnis

    Landesverwaltungsgericht Vorarlberg, via RIS · document dated 2024-06-18 · opened 2026-10-08

    Sie müssen somit einen Gesamtbetrag von 1.300 Euro binnen 14 Tagen an die Bezirkshauptmannschaft B bezahlen.

    Individual court judgment, not a rule page, and the only confirmed Austrian penalty for flying in a protected area. Place names and amounts in the charge are anonymised to initials; the pilot is identified as resident in Germany and represented by German lawyers. The two counts are under the Kanisfluh protection area ordinance, for noise disturbance from the rotors and for walking off marked paths, not under aviation law.

  44. S44official

    KLVwG-950/6/2018, Erkenntnis

    Landesverwaltungsgericht Kärnten, via RIS · document dated 2019-03-28 · opened 2026-10-08

    weshalb über ihn gemäß der Strafbestimmung des § 169 Abs. 1 Z 1 LFG eine Geldstrafe in der Höhe von € 1.100,-- sowie eine Ersatfreiheitsstrafe von 16 Stunden verhängt werde

    Individual court judgment. The offence is operating a class 1 unmanned aircraft without an Austro Control permit under section 24f(2) LFG, which applied because photographs and film were taken; that regime ended on 2020-12-31, so the conduct punished here is not what a visitor would be charged with today. Event 2017-09-08, 15:00 to 15:10, by an event site in a Carinthian Marktgemeinde.

  45. S45official

    LVwG-2017/22/0689-3, Erkenntnis

    Landesverwaltungsgericht Tirol, via RIS · document dated 2017-07-19 · opened 2026-10-08

    er habe am 11.09.2016 um 19:05 Uhr [...] im Luftraum vor dem Balkon der Wohnung [...] ein unbemanntes Luftfahrzeug der Klasse 1, nämlich einen Quadrokopter (Drohne) DJI Phantom 3 Professional mit 12 Megapixelkamera

    Individual court judgment, the oldest located Austrian drone penalty and the clearest on what triggered these cases: a camera drone flown in the airspace in front of somebody's apartment balcony. Same pre-EASA section 24f(2) basis and the same 1,100 EUR and 16 hours as the Carinthian case. Appeal dismissed after a public hearing.

  46. S46official

    VGW-031/076/5706/2020, Erkenntnis

    Verwaltungsgericht Wien, via RIS · document dated 2020-08-26 · opened 2026-10-08

    Ich habe am 08.02.2019 einen Probeflug am D. mit der Drohne eines Gastes des Lokals E. gemacht. Bei diesem kam ein damals äußerst freundlicher und entgegenkommender Polizist auf mich zu

    Individual court judgment and the only located evidence anywhere that Austrian police stopped a drone pilot at the scene; the quote is the pilot's own account, reproduced in the judgment. The penalty of 600 EUR plus 60 EUR costs was annulled and the proceedings discontinued under section 45(1)(2) VStG, so the one Vienna case on record ended in the pilot's favour.

  47. S47official

    Drohnenflug im Nationalpark Hohe Tauern

    Tiroler Umweltanwaltschaft · document dated 2021-09-24 · opened 2026-10-08

    Mit Beschwerdevorentscheidung der Bezirkshauptmannschaft Lienz vom 14.10.2021 wurde die ursprüngliche Bewilligung ersatzlos behoben und damit der Beschwerde gefolgt.

    The case page for the appeal filed in S32, and the only place the outcome appears: the Hohe Tauern core-zone permit was revoked in full on 2021-10-14. This closes the gap rule AT-30 and the Hohe Tauern parks entry both record as unresolved. The page does not say this was the park's first or only private permit; a search summary asserted that and the page does not support it.

  48. S48official

    LVwG-2025/45/2826-4, Erkenntnis

    Landesverwaltungsgericht Tirol, via RIS · document dated 2026-03-12 · opened 2026-10-08

    bei dem der Beschwerdeführer in unmittelbarer Umgebung eines Wohngebäudes, einer öffentlichen Straße sowie eines öffentlichen Wanderweges mit seiner Schrotflinte zweimal auf eine Drohne schoss, diese traf und beschädigte

    Individual court judgment under the Waffengesetz, not the Luftfahrtgesetz: the defendant is the man who shot the drone down, not the pilot. Included because it is the only confirmed instance of a local intervening physically, and because the state treated it as serious enough for a weapons ban that survived appeal. The pilot does not appear as a defendant.

  49. S49official

    Luftfahrtgesetz § 169, Fassung in Kraft seit 01.09.2026

    Rechtsinformationssystem des Bundes · document dated 2026-09-01 · opened 2026-10-08

    Sofern unbemannte Luftfahrzeuge den Gegenstand einer Verwaltungsübertretung bilden, können diese unbemannten Luftfahrzeuge unter den Voraussetzungen des § 17 des Verwaltungsstrafgesetzes 1991 [...] für verfallen erklärt werden.

    Cited here only for the confiscation power, which is new: this sentence is absent from the version that ran to 2026-08-31 and was added by BGBl. I Nr. 80/2026, in force 2026-09-01. The 22,000 EUR ceiling in the same section is unchanged and stays in the law block. No case applying the forfeiture power was found; it was five weeks old at our check date.