dronetravel.guideBriefings checked 8 Oct 2026

Countries · Southern Europe / Iberia · EASA rules

Spain

An operator registered in any EASA State flies in Spain on that registration with nothing to file; a UK, US or other third-country operator registers free with AESA first. Then 120 m, visual line of sight, the ENAIRE Drones zone check and a five-day notice to the Ministry of the Interior for a flight in a town.

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

48 rules · 59 sources, 36 of them official · 15 fields unconfirmed · Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea (AESA) · Sede Electrónica de AESA, procedure Registro de operadores de UAS, entered with a Spanish digital certificate or, for a foreigner, through the e4F key plus passport number

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Your answer

Every engine field and the workflow rest on official pages.

What decides it

  • Registration is required for a drone of any mass that carries a sensor able to capture personal data, unless the aircraft complies with the Toy Directive 2009/48/EC. AESA names DJI Mavic Mini and Mini 2, Hubsan Zino Mini Se and Xiaomi Fimi X8 Mini as sub-250 g aircraft that must register, and racing drones that exceed 80 joules.confirmed on the cited page
  • Registration with AESA is free of charge, carries no fee in the procedure catalogue, and is automatic and immediate where a Spanish digital certificate is used.confirmed on the cited page
  • Creating the user account is not registering as an operator. The operator registration must be completed within 90 days of user sign-up or the system deletes the user and the whole procedure has to be repeated.confirmed on the cited page
  • The operator registration expires 3 years after issue, and certificates issued before 25 June 2024 expire on 25 June 2027. Renewal is by submitting an amendment to the operator register, which resets the expiry by a further 3 years.confirmed on the cited page
  • The operator number must be marked on every drone the operator holds, so that it can be read at a glance with the drone on the ground. It may go in the battery compartment where the airframe is too small to show it outside, or on a scale replica of a real aircraft where marking the fuselage would spoil the realism.confirmed on the cited page
  • The remote pilot must be 16 in the open and specific categories, reduced in Spain to 12 for subcategory A1 with a C0 that is not a toy or a legacy drone under 250 g, and to 14 for A1 with C1, for A2 or A3 with C2, and for A3 with C3, C4, a privately built drone under 25 kg or a legacy drone under 25 kg. The operator must be 16; anyone younger flies under a registered operator.confirmed on the cited page
  • Operations involving the processing of personal data must comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Spanish Organic Law 3/2018 on the protection of personal data and the guarantee of digital rights.confirmed on the cited page
  • Operations in Radio Mandatory Zones and in airspace requiring communication with air traffic services follow the conditions set by the air navigation service provider and published in the Spain AIP; prior coordination with the provider may be required, as may two-way radio with the air traffic services unit. Where the air band is used the pilot must hold a radio operator certificate covering theory and practice and show sufficient knowledge of the languages used in aviation communications. Certificates issued by an approved training organisation or ultralight academy under Article 33 of Royal Decree 1036/2017 were valid only until 25 June 2026.confirmed on the cited page
  • The exemptions that let an operator ignore infrastructure, urban, aerodrome and controlled-airspace zone conditions are reserved to non-EASA activities carried out by the law enforcement agencies, the customs surveillance directorate, the national intelligence centre and the traffic directorate. None of them is available to a visiting pilot.confirmed on the cited page
  • Competency by subcategory: subcategory A1 with a C0, a legacy drone under 250 g or a privately built drone under 250 g needs only familiarity with the manufacturer's manual; A1 with a C1 adds the A1/A3 online training certificate; A2 with a C2 needs a remote pilot competency certificate; A3 with a C3, C4, a legacy drone under 25 kg or a privately built drone under 25 kg needs the manufacturer's manual and the A1/A3 certificate. AESA's A1/A3 training and exam are online and free, and a certificate issued by any Member State is valid in the others. AESA's own courses and exams are held in Spanish only.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.

  • A specific-category operation needs an AESA operational authorisation, or an operational declaration where it fits a published standard scenario (STS-01 with a C5 aircraft, STS-02 with a C6), unless the operator holds a light UAS operator certificate. The applicant must already be registered as an operator and must enter the aircraft in its operator profile; the AESA route is for an operator registered in Spain, and certificate applications are open only to legal persons.
  • An operator registered in another EASA Member State conducts a specific-category operation in Spain through the cross-border procedure: a declaration for a European standard scenario, or AESA recognition of its home operational authorisation, granted either as precise recognition for one operation at a specific location or as generic recognition for multiple operations under the same operational concept.

Before you fly, in order

  1. The operator registers in the EASA Member State of residence, or of its principal place of business for a legal person, and may not be registered in more than one Member State at a time. The number is valid in all EASA States: the EU States plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.
  2. Registration is required for a drone of any mass that carries a sensor able to capture personal data, unless the aircraft complies with the Toy Directive 2009/48/EC. AESA names DJI Mavic Mini and Mini 2, Hubsan Zino Mini Se and Xiaomi Fimi X8 Mini as sub-250 g aircraft that must register, and racing drones that exceed 80 joules.
  3. Registration with AESA is free of charge, carries no fee in the procedure catalogue, and is automatic and immediate where a Spanish digital certificate is used.
  4. Creating the user account is not registering as an operator. The operator registration must be completed within 90 days of user sign-up or the system deletes the user and the whole procedure has to be repeated.
  5. The operator registration expires 3 years after issue, and certificates issued before 25 June 2024 expire on 25 June 2027. Renewal is by submitting an amendment to the operator register, which resets the expiry by a further 3 years.
  6. The operator number must be marked on every drone the operator holds, so that it can be read at a glance with the drone on the ground. It may go in the battery compartment where the airframe is too small to show it outside, or on a scale replica of a real aircraft where marking the fuselage would spoil the realism.
  7. An operator registered in another EASA State needs no AESA operational authorisation, no declaration, no notification to AESA and no AESA electronic-office account to fly in the open category in Spain.
  8. There is no Ministry of the Interior drone register and no duty to register a drone on purchase, sale, transfer or loss. Section 3 of Chapter VI of Royal Decree 517/2024, which created them, was annulled by the Supreme Court on 19 June 2025 on an action brought by the Asociación Nacional de Pilotos de Drones.
  9. The exemptions that let an operator ignore infrastructure, urban, aerodrome and controlled-airspace zone conditions are reserved to non-EASA activities carried out by the law enforcement agencies, the customs surveillance directorate, the national intelligence centre and the traffic directorate. None of them is available to a visiting pilot.
  10. Competency by subcategory: subcategory A1 with a C0, a legacy drone under 250 g or a privately built drone under 250 g needs only familiarity with the manufacturer's manual; A1 with a C1 adds the A1/A3 online training certificate; A2 with a C2 needs a remote pilot competency certificate; A3 with a C3, C4, a legacy drone under 25 kg or a privately built drone under 25 kg needs the manufacturer's manual and the A1/A3 certificate. AESA's A1/A3 training and exam are online and free, and a certificate issued by any Member State is valid in the others. AESA's own courses and exams are held in Spanish only.
  11. Operations in open subcategory A1, and in open subcategory A3 with an aircraft under 20 kg, are exempt from the insurance obligations of Ley 48/1960.
  12. A specific-category operation needs an AESA operational authorisation, or an operational declaration where it fits a published standard scenario (STS-01 with a C5 aircraft, STS-02 with a C6), unless the operator holds a light UAS operator certificate. The applicant must already be registered as an operator and must enter the aircraft in its operator profile; the AESA route is for an operator registered in Spain, and certificate applications are open only to legal persons.
  13. An operator registered in another EASA Member State conducts a specific-category operation in Spain through the cross-border procedure: a declaration for a European standard scenario, or AESA recognition of its home operational authorisation, granted either as precise recognition for one operation at a specific location or as generic recognition for multiple operations under the same operational concept.
  14. Open-category flight is limited to 120 m, measured from the nearest point of the earth's surface.
  15. Subcategory A1 is flown avoiding the overflight of uninvolved people and of assemblies of people. A2 keeps at least 30 m horizontally from uninvolved people. A3 is flown where no uninvolved person is put at risk and at least 150 m horizontally from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas.
  16. The drone must stay within the remote pilot's visual line of sight at all times, except in follow-me mode or where an unmanned-aircraft observer is used.
  17. No Spanish official page states an open-category night rule. C2 and C3 class aircraft must carry lights for attitude control and night flight, and the only Spanish statement about a night green flashing light concerns UAS.SPEC.050, the specific-category duty, from which swarm operators were exempted between 31 August 2025 and 31 August 2026.
  18. UAS geographical zones are established by Chapter V of Royal Decree 517/2024 and must be checked for the intended place of flight. Where several general zones overlap, the operator complies with all of them; where a specific zone overlaps a general one, the specific zone's conditions complement the general ones and prevail in a conflict.
  19. Temporary UAS geographical zones last six months or less and are published on the ENAIRE Drones portal and in NOTAM or an AIP supplement. NOTAM can be read through the ENAIRE ICARO XXI portal and in the ENAIRE Drones and ENAIRE INSIGNIA apps.
  20. Specific UAS geographical zones are approved by the interministerial Defence and Transport committee CIDETRA for reasons of general interest, permanently or activated temporarily, where no general zone serves the purpose. U-space airspace is itself a UAS geographical zone in which operations are only allowed with the support of U-space services.
  21. AESA states that its geographical-zones guide is a non-exhaustive list of the notifications and authorisations needed by place of operation, and that it is without prejudice to other requirements, authorisations, permits or licences under other legislation, in particular on public safety, under the powers of other public administrations, or arising from the ownership of the land used for the operation.
  22. Beyond the general flight rules, drone flight is limited in particular places for different reasons, which AESA lists as the proximity of aerodromes, military zones, the protection of critical infrastructure and environmental protection.
  23. Operations in Radio Mandatory Zones and in airspace requiring communication with air traffic services follow the conditions set by the air navigation service provider and published in the Spain AIP; prior coordination with the provider may be required, as may two-way radio with the air traffic services unit. Where the air band is used the pilot must hold a radio operator certificate covering theory and practice and show sufficient knowledge of the languages used in aviation communications. Certificates issued by an approved training organisation or ultralight academy under Article 33 of Royal Decree 1036/2017 were valid only until 25 June 2026.
  24. Operations involving the processing of personal data must comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Spanish Organic Law 3/2018 on the protection of personal data and the guarantee of digital rights.
  25. The remote pilot must be 16 in the open and specific categories, reduced in Spain to 12 for subcategory A1 with a C0 that is not a toy or a legacy drone under 250 g, and to 14 for A1 with C1, for A2 or A3 with C2, and for A3 with C3, C4, a privately built drone under 25 kg or a legacy drone under 25 kg. The operator must be 16; anyone younger flies under a registered operator.
  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

    Work out which side of the EASA line you are on

    AESA's EASA Member States are the EU States plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. A resident of any of them flies on the home registration. Everyone else is a third-country operator.

    Visitors eligible · None · Immediate

    • Country of residence

    Open the official page

  2. Step 2

    EASA-State residents: fly on the home registration, file nothing

    Mark the home operator number on the aircraft, make sure the pilot holds the training for the subcategory, check the place of operation, and hold liability insurance where one is required. Open-category operations need no AESA authorisation, no declaration, no notification and no AESA electronic-office account.

    Visitors eligible · No Spanish fee · Nothing to process in Spain

    • Home-State operator registration number and certificate
    • Remote pilot training certificate for the subcategory
    • Liability insurance where required

    Open the official page

  3. Step 3

    UK, US and all other residents: register with AESA, free

    Spain must be registered in as the first Member State of operation. Create the account on the AESA electronic office, using e4F if you hold no Spanish electronic identity, then register as an operator within 90 days or the account is deleted.

    Visitors eligible · Free · Automatic and immediate with a digital certificate; not published for the e4F route

    • Valid passport, both sides, one PDF of 5 MB or less
    • Name and surnames
    • Date of birth
    • Nationality and passport number
    • Telephone prefix and number
    • Email address
    • Postal address

    Open the official page

  4. Step 4

    Mark the operator number on every drone

    The number must be readable at a glance with the drone on the ground. The battery compartment is allowed where the airframe is too small, or on a scale replica where marking the fuselage would spoil the realism.

    Visitors eligible · None · Immediate

    • Operator number

    Open the official page

  5. Step 5

    Hold the training the aircraft needs

    A C0 or a sub-250 g legacy or privately built drone in A1 needs only familiarity with the manufacturer's manual. A C1 in A1, and C3, C4 or a sub-25 kg legacy or privately built drone in A3, add the A1/A3 online certificate. A C2 in A2 needs a remote pilot competency certificate. AESA's A1/A3 course and exam are online and free, and a certificate from any Member State counts. AESA's own remote pilot courses and exams are held in Spanish only.

    Visitors eligible · Free at AESA · Exam dependent

    • Identity
    • Training certificate

    Open the official page

  6. Step 6

    Take out insurance if the flight needs it

    Required in open subcategory A2, for any aircraft of 20 kg or more, and for every specific or certified operation. Minimum 220,000 SDR below 20 kg and 750,000 SDR from 20 kg up to 500 kg. Open A1, and open A3 below 20 kg, are exempt. A policy covering each flight is enough; no permanent policy is needed.

    Visitors eligible · Insurer dependent · Insurer dependent

    • Policy or other financial guarantee

    Open the official page

  7. Step 7

    Check the place of flight in ENAIRE Drones before choosing a launch site

    ENAIRE Drones shows the UAS geographical zones, danger areas and alerts on a map of Spain, and is also published as three ED-318 GeoJSON datasets and a servAIS API. Read AESA's geographical-zones guide alongside it for the conditions each zone type carries.

    Visitors eligible · None · Immediate

    • Launch coordinates
    • Planned height
    • Date and time slot

    Open the official page

  8. Step 8

    Flying in a town: notify the Ministry of the Interior five days ahead

    Any flight in an urban environment, or over an assembly of people, needs a prior notification to the Ministry of the Interior at least five calendar days before it starts, on a single form stating the date, time slot and area of each operation. One form covers five calendar days of operations. In the open category you may not overfly buildings or dwellings at all, and the public-safety authorities may restrict or prohibit the flight. The duty falls on every operator obliged to register, so a visitor is in scope; neither AESA page links the form, so its URL is an open gap.

    Visitors eligible · Not stated on any official page · At least five calendar days before the operation

    • Operator identity and operator number
    • Dates and specific time slots
    • Area of each operation

    Open the official page

  9. Step 9

    Aerodrome or heliport zone: apply for coordination

    Apply to the aerodrome or heliport manager and, where one exists, the air traffic service provider, substantiating why the operation has to happen at that place. Expect a response within one month and confirmation at least 72 hours before the flight. Silence for a month is a tacit rejection; a refusal must be in writing with reasons.

    Visitors eligible · Not stated on any official page · Up to one month, with at least 72 hours' notice of the outcome

    • Name and surnames
    • Passport number for a non-resident foreigner
    • Telephone and email
    • Operator registration number
    • Aircraft serial number and whether it carries remote identification
    • Operation plan and mitigation measures

    Open the official page

  10. Step 10

    Controlled airspace: stay at 60 m, or do the risk assessment

    Flying in visual line of sight at a maximum height of 60 m, outside aerodrome and heliport zones, needs no coordination, no flight plan and no prior authorisation. Anything above that needs an operational risk assessment and mitigation form agreed with the air navigation service provider, and normally a flight plan; ENAIRE supplies the form on its website and through its PLANEA app.

    Visitors eligible · Not stated on any official page · Immediate for the 60 m route; provider dependent for the risk-assessment route

    • None for the 60 m route
    • Risk assessment form and concept of operations otherwise

    Open the official page

  11. Step 11

    Protected natural area: coordinate with the managing body first

    Overflight of a zone restricted to protect the environment must be coordinated in advance with the body managing the protected airspace. Identify it through the Natura 2000 portal or the geodata viewers of the Ministry for the Ecological Transition and the Demographic Challenge, which give the form of protection and the competent authority's contact details, and check the ZG_Espacios naturales protegidos layer in ENAIRE Drones. No page states whether a recreational visitor is eligible or what the managing body asks for, and no individual national park page was opened in any pass.

    Eligibility not stated · Not stated on any official page · Not stated on any official page

    • Not stated on any official page

    Open the official page

  12. Step 12

    Photographic restriction zone: ask the Ministry of Defence through CECAF

    Capturing images inside a Zona Restringida al Vuelo Fotográfico is subject to conditions set by the Ministry of Defence after a prior request to the Air Force's Cartographic and Photographic Centre at cecaf@ea.mde.es, under the procedure of National Aeronautical Circular AIC NTL 05/20. The zones are listed in AIP ENR 5.7.

    Eligibility not stated · Not stated on any official page · Not stated on any official page

    • Operation and sensor details

    Open the official page

  13. Step 13

    Carry the pack on the flight

    The operator registration certificate or proof of registration, with the number marked on the aircraft; the pilot's A1/A3 and, where relevant, A2 training certificate; and the insurance policy where one is required. An operator with more than one remote pilot also needs coordination procedures between its people and a list of personnel and assigned tasks.

    Visitors eligible · None · Not applicable

    • Operator registration certificate
    • Remote pilot training certificate
    • Insurance policy where 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 Spanish procedure, declaration or notification is required of an EASA-registered operator flying in the open category. A third-country operator must register with AESA before flying. Both then meet the same zone rules, of which the urban five-day notice is the one a visiting city flight always hits.confirmed on the cited pageS2S15
EU or EEA registration recognisedYesAESA's own definition of the set: the EU States plus Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. The registration is valid in all of them, must be held in the State of residence, and may not be duplicated. The cross-border guide adds that an open-category visitor does not even need an AESA electronic-office account.confirmed on the cited pageS13S1S2S15
UK registration recognisedNoThe UK is not in AESA's EASA-State list, so a UK-resident operator is a third-country operator and registers in the first Member State where it intends to operate. If that is Spain, AESA's own procedures apply to it exactly as to a Spanish operator.confirmed on the cited pageS2S13S15
US registration recognisedNoFAA registration counts for nothing here. Same third-country route as the UK.confirmed on the cited pageS2S13S15
Local registrationRequired from 250 g. Cost: Free. Time: Automatic and immediate with a digital certificate; not published for the e4F route. Non-residents: A valid passport, scanned both sides as a single PDF of 5 MB or less, plus name, surnames, date of birth, nationality, passport number, telephone prefix and number, email and postal address. A resident of another EASA State instead enters and attaches that State's operator registration certificate number..Only third-country residents register in Spain; an EASA-State resident registers at home. The 250 g threshold is one of three triggers, not the only one, and a camera drone under 250 g must register anyway unless it complies with the Toy Directive. Two traps: creating the user account is not registering as an operator, and the operator registration must follow within 90 days or the account is deleted; and the registration itself expires after 3 years, with certificates issued before 25 June 2024 expiring on 25 June 2027. S31 is the superseded 2022 edition of the registration guide, which gave the validity as 2 years. S36 is the same procedure sheet as S16 under a second URL.confirmed on the cited pageS1S13S16S31S36
Remote IDDirect Remote Identification has been required since 1 January 2024 for class-marked C1, C2 and C3 used in the open category, and in the specific category under a European standard scenario or an operational authorisation. The system must transmit the operator registration number with the verification code issued at registration, the aircraft's unique serial number, a timestamp, the aircraft's position and height above the surface or take-off point, course from true north, ground speed, the remote pilot's position and an emergency indication.RD 517/2024 allows operation without remote identification for public-security reasons where complementary mitigations give equivalent safety; no page states conditions a visitor could meet. S34 is the National Civil Aviation Security Programme, which the gap research cited here; it was opened and says nothing about remote identification.confirmed on the cited pageS3S9S25S34
InsuranceMandatory, at least 220,000 SDR below 20 kg, 750,000 SDR at 20 kg and above (up to 500 kg) · Open category subcategory A2, any aircraft of 20 kg or more, every specific-category operation and every certified-category operation. Open subcategory A1, and open subcategory A3 with an aircraft under 20 kg, are exempt.Article 8 of RD 517/2024 sets the scope, and the open-category page, the regulation page and the cross-border guide all restate it. Cover may be per flight or per group of operations; no permanent policy is needed, and a federation's or club's policy satisfies it. AESA's summary pages (S8) carry a flatter wording that reads as a duty on every flight; that conflict is recorded rather than resolved.confirmed on the cited pageS24S3S5S15S6S8
Altitude ceiling120 mMeasured from the nearest point of the earth's surface, so the ceiling follows rising terrain. Inside controlled airspace or a flight information zone the usable ceiling drops to 60 m on the exemption route.confirmed on the cited pageS3
Distance from peopleBy subcategory. A1 is flown avoiding the overflight of uninvolved people and of assemblies of people. A2 keeps a horizontal safety distance of at least 30 m from uninvolved people. A3 is flown where no uninvolved person is put at risk and at least 150 m horizontally from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas. Inside an urban environment a separate distance applies to buildings: none for A1 with C0, C1 under 250 g, legacy under 250 g or privately built under 250 g; 5 m for A1 with C1 of 250 g or more; 30 m for A2 with C2 under 4 kg, or 5 m if a low-speed mode is active; 150 m for A3.confirmed on the cited pageS3S12
Line of sightVisual line of sight is required at all times, with two exceptions named on the official page: follow-me mode, and the use of an unmanned-aircraft observer.confirmed on the cited pageS3
NightNo Spanish official page reached states an open-category night rule or a night prohibition. What is official is adjacent: C2 and C3 class aircraft must carry lights for attitude control and night flight, and AESA's swarm exemption shows that the green flashing light plus active remote identification duty sits in UAS.SPEC.050, the specific-category provision, exempted for swarm operators only between 31 August 2025 and 31 August 2026.Treat the EU open-category night requirements as applying by default, but nothing on a Spanish page says so, so no Spanish night rule is published here.partly confirmedS3S2S30
Class marksC0 under 250 g, 19 m/s maximum horizontal speed, electric. C1 under 900 g or impact energy under 80 J, 19 m/s, electric, unique serial number, direct and network remote identification, geo-awareness, low-battery warning. C2 under 4 kg, selectable low-speed mode limited to 3 m/s unless fixed wing, protected command and control link, attitude and night lights. C3 under 25 kg and largest dimension under 3 m. C4 under 25 kg, no automatic control modes beyond flight stabilisation and link-loss assistance, intended for model flying. A legacy drone is one that is not privately built, complies with Decision 768/2008/EC, carries no C-class mark and was placed on the EU market before 1 January 2024; it flies in A1 if its take-off mass including payload is under 250 g, and in A3 if under 25 kg including fuel and payload.confirmed on the cited pageS3
FPVNo Spanish official page names first-person view. What is published is the rule it depends on: the visual line of sight duty is satisfied where an unmanned-aircraft observer is used, or in follow-me mode.partly confirmedS3
Commercial usePurpose does not decide the regime: Royal Decree 517/2024 and Regulation (EU) 2019/947 do not distinguish flights by whether they are recreational or professional, and the same flight rules and geographical zones apply to every operator. What moves an operation out of the open category is its risk and its conditions. A specific-category operation needs an AESA operational authorisation, or a declaration where it fits a published standard scenario, unless the operator holds a light UAS operator certificate; the AESA route requires an operator registered in Spain, while an operator registered in another EASA State uses the cross-border declaration or recognition route instead.confirmed on the cited pageS12S9S2S15

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

Night

Dropping objects

Commercial use

Privacy

Radio conformity

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.

Not one radius. Four separate volumes by aerodrome or heliport type and height band: public-use civil and military aerodromes, 6 km by 5 km up to 45 m and 10 km by 7.5 km from 45 m to 900 m; public-use civil and military heliports, 2.5 km by 2.5 km up to 90 m and 3.3 km by 3.3 km from 90 m to 900 m; restricted-use civil aerodromes, 3 km by 3 km up to 45 m and 5 km by 4.5 km from 45 m to 900 m; restricted-use civil heliports, a 2.5 km radius up to 90 m and a 3.3 km radius from 90 m to 450 m. Operating inside them is prohibited unless the coordination procedure with the manager and the air traffic service provider permits it. The list of aerodromes and heliports, including restricted-use ones, is in AIP AD 1.3.

Official map
drones.enaire.es
Dataset
aip.enaire.es · GeoJSON with the attributes of the Eurocae single digital format ED-318, Technical specification for geographical zones and U-Space data provision and exchange. Three downloadable datasets: ZGUAS_Aero (3 MB, last updated 1 October 2026, general zones of aeronautical origin), ZGUAS_Urbano (27 KB, last updated 15 October 2024, urban-environment zones) and ZGUAS_Infraestructures (17 MB, last updated 1 October 2026, facility and infrastructure zones), each with its own metadata file. ENAIRE also publishes servAIS, an API serving the same data in an ED-318 compatible format.
Licence
Not stated. Neither the dataset page, nor the dataset metadata, nor the ENAIRE legal notice states a licence or reuse condition; the legal notice carries only a copyright line.
Updated
Updated on AIRAC effective dates, Thursdays at 28-day intervals. Any additional update is also made on a Thursday and, where it does not fall on an AIRAC date, is announced through the ENAIRE AIS notices and updates channel. The last update date is shown beside each download link.
Apps named
ENAIRE Drones (web, Google Play, Apple App Store), ENAIRE INSIGNIA, ENAIRE ICARO XXI (NOTAM), ENAIRE PLANEA (operational risk assessment form)

Customs and the border

Declaration
Not established
Import authorisation
Not established
Radio conformity
Control of UAS entering the Union market under Regulation (EU) 2019/1020 belongs to the Agencia Estatal de Administración Tributaria in the exercise of its customs powers, and to the SOIVRE Inspection Service of the Territorial and Provincial Trade Directorates for product safety under Royal Decree 330/2008; regional market-control administrations supervise compliance with the Delegated Regulation inside Spain, and AESA, the tax agency and SOIVRE cooperate on UAS safety risks. Separately, where air-band radio is required for a flight in controlled airspace or a flight information zone, the pilot must hold a radio operator certificate covering theory and practice and show sufficient knowledge of the languages used in aviation communications.

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 enforcement15 confirmed cases, 1 we could not open · 2022-08 to 2026-08-14 · practice pass 8 October 2026

Fifteen dated reports from August 2022 to August 2026, every one of them at an airport, a monument, a procession or event, or a declared emergency; none records an ordinary rural flight being stopped, and none records a fine actually paid.

How people fly
The places where flights get noticed are documented; where people fly without being noticed is not. The Guardia Civil's own list of where irregular flights are most often detected in Barcelona is the Barceloneta neighbourhood, Park Guell, Tibidabo, the Sagrada Familia and Montjuic, and it filed 261 drone-rule reports across the city during 2024. One operator guide written for visitors calls rural areas of the Balearic Islands relatively usable for A1 and A2 flights at the 120 m limit, away from villages, roads, people and airport zones.
Police and rangers
Police respond to a detection rather than patrol for a pilot, and the detection is usually technical. Anti-drone systems were in place around the Marbella Ironman course and at the Palma Cathedral event; at the Cathedral officers traced the signal to the pilot, and at Puerto de la Cruz they traced the drone to the pilot's hotel. Named units recur: the National Police air security and protection unit and its provincial aerial units in Malaga, the Balearics and Avila, and the Guardia Civil Pegaso team in Gran Canaria and Palma. Once a pilot is identified the recorded outcome is identification, frequently seizure of the aircraft, and a sanction proposal to AESA.
At the border
No usable report.
Fines actually reported
Every figure located is a legal band or a sanction proposal, not a sum anyone is recorded as having paid. 1,000 to 225,000 euros was quoted for the three Marbella drones and for the Palma Cathedral case; 600 to 60,000 euros for the two tourists at the Cordoba Mezquita; 2,500 to 90,000 euros for the Malaga Feria drone; 60 to 225,000 euros for the Avila flood flight and the 2023 Cordoba crash; and 60 euros to 4.5 million for the vicinity of Palma airport, the spread running from an unqualified private pilot to a professional operator. A single figure appears once: the press says the Briton who filmed the Palma Correfoc in January 2025 is facing 30,000 euros. The 200,000 euros attached to the Puerto de la Cruz case is the ceiling of the very serious band, not an imposed fine: the primary report from Radio Television Canaria records the flight, the missing licence and insurance, the seizure and the AESA referral, and states no amount at all.

The law's own penalty schedule is separate: Not established, 11 published fine ranges below.

Where reports cluster

  • Palma de Mallorca: the airport, the Almudaina Palace, the Cathedral and the fiestas

    Six confirmed reports, more than anywhere else in Spain. The airport stopped flights on 19 October 2025; a Serbian citizen's drone was brought down over the Almudaina Palace in August 2025; a tourist's drone over the Cathedral during a Holy Week concert was traced and confiscated in April 2026; a 40-year-old Briton faces 30,000 euros for filming the January 2025 Correfoc; and two drones near the Copa del Rey de Vela security circle in 2022 were flown by a US citizen and a Polish tourist.

  • Canary Island airports: Lanzarote, Gran Canaria and Tenerife

    Two confirmed airport stoppages in 2026. Lanzarote halted flights on Sunday 26 April; at Gran Canaria on Saturday 25 July the drone drifted into the airport perimeter from a nearby beach where its owner was flying without authorisation, and the Guardia Civil recovered it, identified the owner and opened proceedings with permanent confiscation possible. The beach case is the one report that did not begin as a deliberate flight at a sensitive site.

  • Alicante-Elche Airport

    27 October 2025: at least one drone was reported in the airspace, flights were suspended for nearly two hours and a specialist police aerial unit was deployed to find the operator. No outcome was reported.

  • Marbella and Malaga, Andalusia

    Two confirmed reports. Three unauthorised drones over the Ironman 70.3 World Championship course in November 2025 were detected by anti-drone systems, the pilots identified, the aircraft requisitioned and proposals sent to AESA at 1,000 to 225,000 euros. On 14 August 2026 the provincial aerial unit seized a drone over Malaga Port during the Feria opening show and located a 27-year-old man, with 2,500 to 90,000 euros quoted.

  • Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife

    15 July 2025, during the Virgen del Carmen maritime procession: a foreign tourist with no licence, no insurance and no operator registration was traced to his hotel, the drone was seized and the case went to AESA. Three authorised professional drones were flying the event at the time. The 200,000 euros widely attached to this case is the band ceiling, not a fine that was issued.

  • Mezquita-Catedral de Cordoba, Patio de los Naranjos

    Two confirmed reports, both tourists. Over a weekend in March 2026 two people flying inside the courtyard were proposed for sanction at 600 to 60,000 euros, having given no prior notice to the Ministry of the Interior or the airport authority. In September 2023 a foreign tourist's drone crashed into the tower from the same courtyard without causing damage.

  • Holy Week and fiesta processions

    Three confirmed reports in three provinces: Puerto de la Cruz in July 2025, the Palma Cathedral Holy Week concert in April 2026, and a Portuguese citizen flying two drones at once over the procesion de La Esperanza in Avila on Lunes Santo, 30 March 2026, who was made to land and identified by the National Police.

  • Barcelona: Barceloneta, Park Guell, Tibidabo, Sagrada Familia and Montjuic

    A volume figure rather than a single case. The Guardia Civil filed 261 reports for breaches of the drone rules across Barcelona during 2024 and names those five tourist sites as where irregular flights are most often detected, alongside a drone 500 m above the El Prat approaches and an operator filming the Sagrada Familia out of visual range.

  • Teide, Timanfaya, Picos de Europa, Ordesa y Monte Perdido and Donana

    No dated practice report exists for any of them. The prohibition is in the law block; what rangers actually do is unevidenced. The only source behind the parks in the research report is an operator guide stating that all fifteen Spanish national parks prohibit drone flights, and a direct Spanish-language search for drone enforcement in these parks found no case.

Dated reports

  • 2022-08 · Palma, near the Copa del Rey de Vela security circle · press

    Two drones were detected about 300 m from the regatta security circle, one around 12:30 and one around 17:30. The pilots were a US citizen and a Polish tourist; the first had no insurance, no operator registration and no certificate.

    Both drones were neutralised by inhibition and both pilots were proposed for sanction before AESA at 600 to 250,000 euros. report

  • 2023-09-28 · Patio de los Naranjos, Mezquita-Catedral de Cordoba · press

    A foreign tourist flying from the courtyard at about 10am crashed the drone into the tower of the monument, without causing material damage.

    The National Police took the device and investigated; a fine of 60 to 225,000 euros was reported as possible. report

  • 2025-01 · Correfoc de Sant Sebastia, Paseo Mallorca, central Palma · press

    A 40-year-old British man filmed the Correfoc with an unlicensed drone in a restricted area. An officer saw him and asked him to stop.

    He is reported as facing a 30,000 euro fine. The report does not say the drone was seized and does not mention AESA. report

  • 2025-03-21 · Avila capital, during a level 2 flood emergency · press

    A pilot flew over the city without authorisation while the Chico and Adaja rivers were in flood and a level 2 emergency was declared.

    The National Police air security unit and the Local Police identified and denounced him; 60 to 225,000 euros, referred to AESA. A resident, not a visitor. report

  • 2025-07-15 · Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, Virgen del Carmen maritime procession · press

    A foreign tourist flew a drone over the crowded procession with no certificate and no third-party insurance. Three authorised professional drones were filming the event.

    Police traced the drone to the Hotel Las Aguilas, seized the aircraft and reported the owner to AESA. No amount is stated in the primary report; the 200,000 euros reported elsewhere is the band ceiling. report

  • 2025-08-24 · Almudaina Palace, Palma · press

    A Serbian citizen flew a drone over the palace on the Sunday before publication.

    The PEGASO air security team found the flight and brought the drone down; the man was handed to the competent authorities over several administrative violations. No amount stated. report

  • 2025-10-19 · Palma de Mallorca Airport · press

    A drone was reported in the airspace on the Sunday evening.

    Operations were suspended for about 35 minutes and resumed at 19:39; eight inbound aircraft were diverted. Where the drone came from was never established. Specialist Guardia Civil and National Police units searched for the operator. report

  • 2025-10-27 · Alicante-Elche Miguel Hernandez Airport and Torrellano · press

    At least one drone was detected near the airport perimeter.

    Flights were suspended for nearly two hours; police opened an investigation and deployed a specialist aerial unit to locate the operator. No outcome was reported. report

  • 2025-11 · Marbella, Ironman 70.3 World Championship course · press

    Three unauthorised drones were detected by the Malaga provincial aerial unit's anti-drone systems operating near the race course, without the required authorisations or aeronautical coordination.

    The pilots were identified, the aircraft intercepted and requisitioned, and sanction proposals sent to AESA under Ley 21/2003 at 1,000 to 225,000 euros. Permanent confiscation was reported. report

  • 2026-03-21 · Patio de los Naranjos, Mezquita-Catedral de Cordoba · press

    Two people on holiday in the city flew drones inside the courtyard, one on the Saturday around 12:00 and a similar flight the next day. Neither had notified the Ministry of the Interior or the airport authority.

    The National Police proposed both for sanction as grave or muy grave administrative infractions, 600 to 60,000 euros. report

  • 2026-03-30 · Plaza de Concepcion Arenal, Avila, procesion de La Esperanza · press

    On Lunes Santo a Portuguese citizen piloted two drones at the same time over the procession.

    The National Police made the aircraft land, identified him and reported him for grave infractions carrying significant financial sanctions. report

  • 2026-04 · Palma Cathedral, La Seu, during a Holy Week benefit concert · press

    A tourist flew a drone high over streets and buildings on the route taken by Queen Sofia and other authorities arriving at the cathedral, where an anti-drone device was deployed.

    Police traced the signal, located the presumed pilot, confiscated the drone and opened proceedings; 1,000 to 225,000 euros. report

  • 2026-04-26 · Cesar Manrique-Lanzarote Airport · press

    A drone was present near the airport at about 16:30 on the Sunday.

    Operations were halted for minutes. No operator was identified. The report quotes 60 to 225,000 euros for recreational use. report

  • 2026-07-25 · Gran Canaria Airport · press

    A drone drifted into the airport grounds from a nearby beach, where its owner was flying it without the required authorisations or precautions, and air traffic was interrupted.

    The Guardia Civil located the aircraft inside the airport, recovered it and identified the owner; the Pegaso team notified the aviation authority and administrative proceedings were opened, with permanent confiscation possible. report

  • 2026-08-14 · Malaga Port, Feria de Malaga opening show · press

    Around 23:55 a drone flew over the port during the official drone show of the Feria opening.

    Agents of the provincial aerial unit seized the drone and located a 27-year-old man; a fine of 2,500 to 90,000 euros was reported. report

  • 2026-05-15 · Spain, locality not stated · community

    [unverified] A forum post says Spanish authorities took a DJI Mini 3 from a pilot who states he was registered.

    [unverified] The drone was reportedly retained while a report was prepared and a fine of about 1,000 euros was mentioned. reddit.com cannot be opened by any client on this machine, so nothing here was checked against the page. 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
Any UAS infringement under Article 45 ter of Ley 21/2003 where the offender is not acting commercially or for non-salary economic consideration: minorWarning, or 60 to 45,000 EUR (Art. 55.1.a Ley 21/2003)S27
The same, escalated to serious under Article 44.245,001 to 90,000 EUR (Art. 55.1.b)S27
The same, escalated to very serious under Article 44.390,001 to 225,000 EUR (Art. 55.1.c)S27
UAS infringements committed by the actors Article 55.2 lists, which covers those carrying on activities within the Act's scope commercially or for non-salary economic consideration: minor, serious, very seriousWarning or 4,500 to 70,000 EUR; 70,001 to 250,000 EUR; 250,001 to 4,500,000 EUR. AESA's own cross-border page prints these three bands as the applicable sanctions without mentioning Article 55.1.S27S2
Not being registered as a UAS operator where required; registering in a Member State other than the State of residence or principal place of business; supplying or keeping inaccurate or incomplete information in the register; being registered in more than one Member State at onceMinor infringements under Art. 45 ter.1.a, so the Article 55 bands applyS27
Not having put the unique digital registration number on the aircraft; not having the direct remote identification system or accessory active where it is required; not stating the operator registration number where registration is compulsoryMinor infringements under Art. 45 ter.1.bS27
Operating in the open category in breach of the applicable operational requirements or limitationsMinor infringement under Art. 45 ter.1.c.1S27
Operating in a UAS geographical zone of any nature or name in breach of its prohibitions, limitations, conditions or requirements, including the absence of the express permission of the owner or administrator of the construction, building or infrastructure where that is required, and breach of the coordination dutyMinor infringement under Art. 45 ter.1.c.6S27
Operating in the specific category in Spanish airspace while registered in another Member State, in breach of the cross-border requirementsMinor infringement under Art. 45 ter.1.c.5S27
Failing to give the five-day urban notification, or breaching a prohibition or restriction imposed on the operationWhere the conduct falls within the public-security infringements of Chapter V of Organic Law 4/2015, that Act's sanction regime applies instead of the aviation one.S24
Flying without the insurance the rules requireNo drone-specific insurance offence is listed in Article 45 ter; it is covered, if at all, only by the general operational-requirements row. No tariff is published.S27

Confiscation: No drone-confiscation or seizure power is stated anywhere in Ley 21/2003. What exists is Article 30, extraordinary measures: the Director General of Civil Aviation may order the immobilisation of an aircraft, or the temporary limitation or suspension of certificates, approvals, authorisations, licences or ratings already granted, where irregularities have been found that certainly, seriously and immediately affect air safety; the costs fall on the owner or operator. Articles 56 and 57 add accessory sanctions, including suspension, limitation or revocation of titles and a three-year disqualification after two very serious infringements in a year, plus duties of restitution and compensation.

Criminal liability: No drone-specific criminal offence was found. Ley 21/2003 states that liability for the infringements it defines is administrative in nature and does not exclude liability of any other order. AESA's own wording is that non-compliance with the UAS rules may be subject to administrative sanctions under Ley 21/2003 and other applicable national legislation, and that AESA is the competent authority for oversight and enforcement.

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.

1 cited pages refused our checks and are marked unreachable in the source list.

Sources that disagree

  1. Whether a traveller must declare a drone at Spanish customs, and whether any import authorisation applies to a personally owned aircraft. No customs page was reached in any pass.
  2. Any Spain-specific lithium battery carriage rule. Airline and dangerous-goods rules apply by default, but no Spanish page says so.
  3. The procedure for demonstrating radio-equipment conformity for a drone bought outside the EU, and whether SETELECO plays any part. SETELECO, which the research query named as the radio regulator, is named on no page reached.
  4. The URL, the form itself and any fee for the Ministry of the Interior five-day urban notification. AESA's guide says the form is available on the Ministry of the Interior website and does not link it.
  5. Processing time and cost for every zone route except aerodrome and heliport coordination: prohibited and restricted zones, defence zones, infrastructure zones, environmental coordination and photographic-restriction zones all publish neither.
  6. Whether a visiting recreational pilot is eligible for environmental-zone coordination, and what the managing body requires. No page states it.
  7. Teide, Picos de Europa, Ordesa y Monte Perdido and Doñana: any drone rule, permit path, fee, season or enforcement. No park authority page was opened in any pass, so the premise that all four ban drones outright stays unconfirmed in both directions.
  8. Any Canary-Islands-wide drone rule, and anything municipal for Barcelona, Madrid, Mallorca, Tenerife, Lanzarote or Andalusia. Those places are covered here only by the national urban and zone layers.
  9. The geozone datasets' licence and reuse conditions. The dataset page, the metadata file and the ENAIRE legal notice state none.
  10. The processing time for a third-country registration completed without a Spanish digital certificate, through the e4F route.
  11. Whether a Spanish telephone number is required in the registration form. The form requires a telephone prefix and number; no page says the number must be Spanish.
  12. Whether the swarm exemption in Resolución EX-D-011, which expired on 31 August 2026, has been extended again.
  13. Any open-category night rule in Spanish national law. The only Spanish statement about night lights concerns the specific category.
  14. A complete official change log since 2024. Only the dated changes listed above are confirmed.
  15. Any dated enforcement incident, and any community pilot report. Neither research pass produced one, so the reality section is empty rather than reassuring.

What changed, and when

Dated changes to the rules, newest first.

  1. 25 June 2026

    Radio operator certificates issued by an approved training organisation or an ultralight academy under Article 33 of Royal Decree 1036/2017 cease to be valid for the air-band knowledge requirement.

    S12

  2. 20 October 2025

    Article 45 ter and the amended Articles 44, 55 and 58 of Ley 21/2003 enter into force, so the drone offence list and the fine bands date from this day.

    S27

  3. 30 September 2025

    Ley 8/2025 of 29 September 2025 is published, adding Article 45 ter on UAS infringements to Ley 21/2003 and amending Articles 44, 55 and 58. The original statute's own later-references block records the addition.

    S27S28

  4. 31 August 2025

    Resolución EX-D-011 extends the exemption that lets swarm operators in the specific category fly without an individual green flashing light at night and an active remote identification system; it ran only to 31 August 2026.

    S30

  5. 11 July 2025

    The judgment is published in BOE no. 166 and the consolidated text of Real Decreto 517/2024 is updated to show Articles 53 to 58 as annulled.

    S26S29

  6. 19 June 2025

    The Supreme Court annuls Section 3 of Chapter VI of Real Decreto 517/2024, removing the Ministry of the Interior register of unmanned aircraft and the duties to register a drone on marketing, sale, acquisition, transfer and loss.

    S29S24

  7. 5 September 2024

    Three months after publication, the specific-category training-entity sections of Real Decreto 517/2024 and its amendment of the import-control decree RD 330/2008 enter into force.

    S25

  8. 25 June 2024

    Real Decreto 517/2024 enters into force. Operator certificates issued before this date run for three years from it, to 25 June 2027. Registration becomes compulsory for non-EASA activity operators other than the security forces, the national intelligence centre, customs surveillance and the traffic directorate.

    S1S13S24S25

  9. 5 June 2024

    Real Decreto 517/2024 is published in BOE no. 136.

    S25

  10. 28 May 2024

    Operators may file authorisation applications based on PDRA-S01[F] for agricultural and forestry spraying and dispersion with aircraft up to 3 m characteristic dimension.

    S5

  11. 1 January 2024

    Direct Remote Identification becomes required for class-marked C1, C2 and C3 in the open category and for specific-category operations under a European standard scenario or an operational authorisation. European standard scenarios STS-01 and STS-02 become available. Legacy cut-off: a drone placed on the EU market before this date is a legacy drone.

    S3S9

  12. 31 December 2020

    Regulation (EU) 2019/947 and Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 become applicable in Spain, affecting every drone regardless of size, weight or use.

    S5S7

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

    Drone Operator Registration/UAS

    AESA · document dated 2026-01-23 · opened 2026-10-08

    With an MTOM of 250 g or more, or which, in the event of a collision, is capable of transferring to a human a kinetic energy greater than 80 joules; equipped with a sensor capable of capturing personal data

    Rule page. Research id 2 in both briefs, which dated it 3 October 2026; the page's own line reads Last modified: Friday, 23 January 2026. It also carries the fee, the e4F route, the 90-day window and the three-year validity.

  2. S2official

    How to fly a UAS in Spain

    AESA · document dated 2026-10-01 · opened 2026-10-08

    Therefore, UAS operators from a third country that is not considered an EASA Member State must register as a UAS operator in the first Member State in which the UAS operator intends to conduct operations.

    Rule page, and the richest in the set: it carries the national-conditions table with the age matrix, the scoped insurance list, the radio regime, the privacy rule, the alternative means of compliance, the swarm exemption, the penalty paragraph and the ED-318 data format. Research id 1 in the gap brief, dated there 6 March 2026; the page reads Última modificación: Jueves, 1 Octubre 2026.

  3. S3official

    Operaciones con UAS/Drones - Categoría abierta (subcategorías A1, A2 y A3)

    AESA · document dated 2026-04-14 · opened 2026-10-08

    límite máximo de altura de vuelo de 120m, desde el punto más próximo de la superficie terrestre

    Rule page, Spanish. English gloss of the quote: maximum flight height limit of 120 m from the nearest point of the earth's surface. It also carries the class table, the subcategory distances, the insurance exemption, the remote identification rules, the minimum-age reductions and the in-flight document list.

  4. S4official

    Operations UAS/drones - Open category (Subcategories A1, A2 and A3)

    AESA · document dated 2026-04-14 · opened 2026-10-08

    The operational category 'open' covers all operations with UAS that are of low operational risk

    English sibling of S3, machine translation per AESA's own banner. Research id 1 in the main brief. Opened to check the translation against the Spanish text.

  5. S5official

    Normativa de UAS/drones

    AESA · document dated 2026-04-14 · opened 2026-10-08

    Quedan excepcionadas del cumplimiento de las obligaciones de aseguramiento previstas en la Ley 48/1960 [...] En la categoría «abierta», dentro de subcategoría A1

    Rule page, Spanish. English gloss: operations in open subcategory A1 are exempt from the insurance obligations of Ley 48/1960. Research id 9 in the main brief. It is also the index for the AESA resolutions, including the swarm exemption at S30.

  6. S6official

    UAS/drones regulations

    AESA · document dated 2026-04-14 · opened 2026-10-08

    Regulation 785/2004 establishes a minimum amount for damage to third parties on land of 750,000 SDRs [...] while Royal Decree 37/2001 the minimum amount to be covered is 220,000 SDRs.

    English sibling of S5, machine translation. Research id 5 in the gap brief, dated there 31 December 2020 and updated 2 October 2026; the page reads Last modified: Tuesday, 14 April 2026.

  7. S7official

    ¿Tienes un UAS/dron? Requisitos mínimos para volar un dron

    AESA · document dated 2026-01-28 · opened 2026-10-08

    La formación es telemática y gratuita y tras la superación del examen online AESA le expedirá un certificado

    Rule page, Spanish. English gloss: the training is online and free, and after passing the online exam AESA issues a certificate. Reached by navigating the live site after the research pass's own Spanish citation (S33) turned out to be dead; this page carries the text that citation was used for.

  8. S8official

    Do you have a UAS/dron?

    AESA · document dated 2026-01-28 · opened 2026-10-08

    an insurance policy covering civil liability against third parties for damages that may arise during and for the execution of each flight carried out, both for recreational and professional purposes, must be contracted.

    English sibling of S7, machine translation. Research id 7 in the main brief and 4 in the gap brief. This is the blanket insurance wording that conflicts with Article 8 of RD 517/2024.

  9. S9official

    Operaciones con UAS/Drones - Categoría Específica

    AESA · document dated 2026-08-31 · opened 2026-10-08

    es necesario que un operador registrado en España solicite y obtenga una autorización operacional emitida por la Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea

    Rule page, Spanish. English gloss: an operator registered in Spain must apply for and obtain an operational authorisation issued by AESA. Research id 11 in the main brief and 7 in the gap brief, both dating it 2 October 2026; the page reads Última modificación: Lunes, 31 Agosto 2026. It is also the source for the public AESA population-density GeoTIFF layers.

  10. S10official

    Operations with UAS/Drones - Specific Category

    AESA · document dated 2026-08-31 · opened 2026-10-08

    English sibling of S9, machine translation. Opened to check the specific-category wording against the Spanish text.

  11. S11official

    Zonas geográficas de UAS

    AESA · document dated 2025-08-07 · opened 2026-10-08

    Las zonas geográficas de UAS que establecen las condiciones de uso de espacio aéreo y los requisitos de equipos adicionales han sido establecidos en el Real Decreto 517/2024.

    Rule page, Spanish, cited by neither research brief and reached by following the Zonas geográficas de UAS link on S2. English gloss: the UAS geographical zones setting the conditions of airspace use and the additional equipment requirements are established in Royal Decree 517/2024. It is the index that versions S12. Its English sibling prints a different modification date, 8 January 2026.

  12. S12official

    Guide to UAS flight requirements and limitations, depending on the place of operations (UAS geographical zones), Ed.03

    AESA · document dated 2024-11-12 · opened 2026-10-08

    UAS operators [...] that wish to carry out UAS operations in urban environments or over assemblies of people must give prior notice thereof to the Ministry of the Interior at least five calendar days before commencing said operations.

    Rule page in PDF form, 36 pages, cited by neither research brief and reached from S11. Ed.03 prints no date of its own, applying from publication; the date recorded here is Ed.02's own applicability date from the register of editions, and the server's Last-Modified is 26 May 2025. It is the source for the urban, infrastructure, aerodrome, controlled-airspace, environmental and photographic-restriction zone rules and for the coordination procedure.

  13. S13official

    Guía de registro como operador de UAS, Edición 04

    AESA · document dated 2024-06-25 · opened 2026-10-08

    Para residentes en un tercer país [...] al finalizar el alta de usuario, podrá realizar el registro de operador en España.

    Procedure page in PDF form, 64 pages, reached from S1, which links this edition. English gloss: for residents of a third country, on completing user sign-up you may register as an operator in Spain. It also carries the document pack, the EASA Member State definition and the free-of-charge statement. It supersedes the 2022 guide the research cited at S31.

  14. S14official

    Registro y operación de UAS de masa máxima al despegue (MTOM) inferior a 250 gramos

    AESA · opened 2026-10-08

    aeronaves del tipo DJI Mavic Mini o Mini 2 [...] pese a tener una MTOM < 250 g, requieren registro como operador de UAS para volar en categoría 'abierta'

    Rule page in PDF form, one page, reached from S1, which links it as Information on drones of less than 250g. English gloss: aircraft of the DJI Mavic Mini or Mini 2 type, despite having a take-off mass under 250 g, require registration as a UAS operator to fly in the open category. It prints no date and carries the pre-2024 ministry letterhead; the server's Last-Modified is 26 May 2025.

  15. S15official

    Guide to Conducting Cross-Border Operations (Article 13 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947), Ed.03

    AESA · document dated 2024-12-27 · opened 2026-10-08

    'Open' category operations do not require an operational authorization from [...] AESA nor the submission of a signed declaration before the flight. Nor is it necessary to inform AESA of the undertaking of operations.

    Rule page in PDF form, 36 pages, reached from S2. Ed.03 applies from publication and prints no date of its own; the date recorded is Ed.02's applicability date from the register of editions, and the server's Last-Modified is 1 October 2026. It carries the open-category checklist, the scoped insurance list, the training matrix and the third-country section.

  16. S16official

    Registro de operadores de UAS

    AESA, Sede Electrónica · document dated 2025-09-05 · opened 2026-10-08

    A quién va dirigido: Cualquier persona física o jurídica [...] Tasas: No

    Procedure sheet, Spanish. English gloss: who it is for, any natural or legal person; fees, none. Research id 10 in the main brief and 3 in the gap brief, both dating it 2 October 2026; the sheet reads Última modificación: Viernes, 05 Septiembre 2025. Part of the Sede Electrónica was in scheduled maintenance during this pass; this sheet served.

  17. S17official

    Aeromodelling

    AESA · document dated 2025-09-02 · opened 2026-10-08

    The minimum age to register as a UAS operator is 16 years. For those users with a lower age, they must operate under the cover of a registered UAS operator.

    Rule page, machine translation. Research id 6 in the main brief. Two translation errors with legal content are recorded in conflicts: the legacy age row and the issuer of a model-club authorisation.

  18. S18official

    UAS/Drones operator registration for non-EASA activities

    AESA · document dated 2025-05-13 · opened 2026-10-08

    operators of non-EASA activities or services carried out directly are obliged to register, unless they are the Security Forces and Bodies regulated by Organic Law 2/1986

    Rule page, machine translation. Research id 8 in the gap brief. It is cited here only to show which bodies the non-EASA exemption columns in AESA's zone tables belong to, none of which is a visiting pilot.

  19. S19official

    UAS geographical zones, AIP Spain

    ENAIRE · opened 2026-10-08

    ED-318: Files compatible with the unique digital format stablished in european regulation [...] UAS geographical zones data are updated on stablished AIRAC effective dates (on Thursdays at 28 days intervals)

    Dataset and access page. Research id 4 in the main brief. It prints no page date; each dataset row carries its own last-update date, which is how the format and cadence gaps the gap brief left open were closed.

  20. S20official

    Zonas geográficas de UAS, AIP

    ENAIRE · opened 2026-10-08

    Conforme al RD 517/2024, La entidad pública empresarial ENAIRE es la entidad responsable de la puesta a disposición de la información sobre las zonas geográficas de UAS identificadas en territorio y espacio aéreo de soberanía española.

    Spanish sibling of S19. English gloss: under RD 517/2024, the public business entity ENAIRE is responsible for making available the information on the UAS geographical zones identified in Spanish sovereign territory and airspace. Research id 5 in the main brief, whose quote dropped the words La entidad pública empresarial.

  21. S21official

    AIP Spain, Web applications

    ENAIRE · opened 2026-10-08

    Web application offering operators and pilots of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) the UAS geographical zones, so they can plan their operations safely.

    Index of the ENAIRE applications: Insignia, ENAIRE Drones, Insignia VFR and the VFR Guide. Research id 14 in the main brief.

  22. S22official

    ZGUAS_Aero metadata

    ENAIRE · opened 2026-10-08

    Formato: GeoJSON. Los atributos son los estipulados en el documento de Eurocae, "ED-318: Technical specification for geographical zones and U-SPACE data provision and exchange"

    Dataset metadata, reached from S19 and S20. English gloss: format, GeoJSON; the attributes are those stipulated in the Eurocae document ED-318. It also records that the aerodrome and prohibited-zone geometries are computed in a geographic information system from the aeronautical information service database, and that the photographic-restriction data are those published in AIP ENR 5.7.

  23. S23official

    ENAIRE Drones

    ENAIRE · opened 2026-10-08

    The official map the authority names, and the only place the environmental, photographic-restriction and temporary zone layers can be read for a given location. It answers HTTP 200 but renders only a browser-support notice to a plain fetch, so it is a JavaScript application and no rule text was read from it.

  24. S24official

    Real Decreto 517/2024, de 4 de junio (consolidated text)

    Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado · document dated 2024-06-04 · opened 2026-10-08

    Para la ejecución de operaciones de UAS con aeronaves no tripuladas con una MTOM inferior a 20 kilogramos: a) En la categoría «abierta», dentro de subcategoría A2; b) En la categoría «específica» [...]; o c) En la categoría «certificada»

    Statute, consolidated text, last updated 11 July 2025. English gloss of the quote, from Article 8.2: for UAS operations with aircraft of a take-off mass below 20 kg in open subcategory A2, in the specific category in any modality, or in the certified category. Permalink ELI: boe.es/eli/es/rd/2024/06/04/517/con. Research id 9 in the gap brief. It is also where Articles 53 to 58 now read (Anulado).

  25. S25official

    Real Decreto 517/2024, de 4 de junio (original text)

    Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado · document dated 2024-06-05 · opened 2026-10-08

    Por motivos de seguridad pública, siempre y cuando se apliquen medidas de atenuación complementarias que garanticen niveles de seguridad equivalentes, podrán operar sin cumplir el requisito de estar equipados con un sistema [...]

    Statute as published in BOE no. 136 of 5 June 2024, entry into force 25 June 2024. English gloss: for public-security reasons, and provided complementary mitigation measures guaranteeing equivalent safety levels are applied, they may operate without meeting the requirement to carry a remote identification system or accessory. Research ids 5 and 8 in the gap brief.

  26. S26official

    Real Decreto 517/2024 consolidated PDF

    Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado · document dated 2025-07-11 · opened 2026-10-08

    A doce años, para la utilización de UAS en la subcategoría A1 [...] Cuando operen un UAS de clase C0 [...] que no sea un juguete

    Statute PDF. The document itself prints Última modificación: 11 de julio de 2025; the gap brief recorded the version as seen 17 July 2025. English gloss of the quote, from Article 7: to twelve years, for the use of UAS in subcategory A1, when operating a class C0 UAS that is not a toy.

  27. S27official

    Ley 21/2003, de 7 de julio, de Seguridad Aérea (consolidated text)

    Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado · document dated 2025-09-30 · opened 2026-10-08

    a) Las infracciones leves con apercibimiento o multa de 60 hasta 45.000 euros. b) Las infracciones graves con multa de 45.001 a 90.000 euros. c) Las infracciones muy graves con multa de 90.001 a 225.000 euros.

    Statute, consolidated text; the document date recorded is the last consolidation, published 30 September 2025 and in force from 20 October 2025. English gloss of the quote, from Article 55.1: minor infringements with a warning or a fine of 60 to 45,000 euros; serious, 45,001 to 90,000; very serious, 90,001 to 225,000. Article 45 ter, the UAS infringement article, was added by Ley 8/2025 of 29 September 2025. Research ids 7 and 11 in the gap brief.

  28. S28official

    Ley 21/2003, de 7 de julio, de Seguridad Aérea (original text)

    Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado · document dated 2003-07-07 · opened 2026-10-08

    de naturaleza administrativa y no excluye las de otro orden a que hubiere lugar

    Statute as enacted on 7 July 2003, in force 28 July 2003. English gloss: administrative in nature and does not exclude liability of any other order. Opened and read: the enacted text predates drones, and Article 45 ter appears on this page only in the later-references block, which records that Ley 8/2025 of 29 September 2025 added it. So every UAS penalty claim has to come from the consolidated text at S27. The gap brief cited this URL for the drone-specific registration offences.

  29. S29official

    Sentencia de 19 de junio de 2025, de la Sala Tercera del Tribunal Supremo

    Tribunal Supremo, via Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado · document dated 2025-06-19 · opened 2026-10-08

    Se declara la nulidad de la Sección 3.ª del Capítulo VI, y se desestima la demanda en todo lo demás.

    Individual judgment, not a rule page, published in BOE no. 166 of 11 July 2025 on an action by the Asociación Nacional de Pilotos de Drones. English gloss: Section 3 of Chapter VI is declared void and the claim is dismissed in all other respects. That section is Articles 53 to 58, the Ministry of the Interior drone register and its purchase, sale, transfer and loss duties. The gap brief cited the judgment and printed this line without saying what had been annulled.

  30. S30official

    Resolución EX-D-011, prórroga de la exención EX-D-010 (DRI y luces, enjambres)

    AESA · document dated 2025-08-31 · opened 2026-10-08

    velar por que cada aeronave no tripulada lleve instalados: i) al menos una luz verde intermitente con fines de visibilidad de la aeronave, y ii) un sistema activo y actualizado de identificación a distancia.

    Individual exemption decision, not a rule page, reached from S5. English gloss: ensure that each unmanned aircraft carries at least one green flashing light for the aircraft's visibility and an active and updated remote identification system. The quoted duty is UAS.SPEC.050(1)(l), the specific-category provision, and the exemption covers swarm operators only, from 31 August 2025 to 31 August 2026. It proves which category the night-light duty sits in, which is why no Spanish open-category night rule is published here.

  31. S31official

    Guía de registro como operador de UAS, Versión 3 (superseded)

    AESA · document dated 2022-08-01 · opened 2026-10-08

    El registro es válido en todos los Estados EASA y tiene una caducidad de 2 años, que se podrá renovar automáticamente

    Superseded procedure PDF, research id 12 in the main brief, which quoted it up to the words Estados EASA and stopped immediately before the two-year figure. English gloss: the registration is valid in all EASA States and expires after 2 years, renewable automatically. The live page and Ed.04 both set three years. It is still served but is linked from no live page.

  32. S32official

    REGISTRO DE OPERADORES DE UAS, v0.1 (superseded)

    AESA · opened 2026-10-08

    UAS de más de 250g de MTOM; o UAS independientemente de su peso que tengan equipados sistemas de captación de imágenes, salvo que sea conforme con la Directiva 2009/48/CE

    Superseded walkthrough PDF, research id 3 in the main brief, which presented it as conflicting with the current web page on whether camera drones must register. English gloss: UAS of more than 250 g take-off mass, or UAS of any weight equipped with image capture systems, unless compliant with Directive 2009/48/EC. The current pages carry both criteria together, so there is no conflict about the camera rule; what differs is more than 250 g against 250 g or more. It prints no date, carries the pre-2021 ministry letterhead and links the retired electronic office.

  33. S33officialcould not be opened

    ¿Tienes un UAS/dron? Conoce los requisitos mínimos para volar de forma segura (dead)

    AESA · opened 2026-10-08

    Research id 8 in the main brief, cited there for the list of places where drone flight is limited. The URL answers HTTP 200 but serves AESA's error page: Lo sentimos, ha ocurrido un error. Se ha producido un error inesperado. The live page carrying that text is S7, found by navigating the site.

  34. S34official

    Resolución de 17 de enero de 2024, actualización de la parte pública del Programa Nacional de Seguridad para la Aviación Civil

    Agencia Estatal Boletín Oficial del Estado · document dated 2024-01-17 · opened 2026-10-08

    Off topic. Research id 2 in the gap brief, cited there in a remote-identification context. Opened: it is the public part of the National Civil Aviation Security Programme, in force 1 February 2024 and last consolidated 14 January 2026, and it says nothing about unmanned aircraft remote identification. It backs nothing published here.

  35. S35official

    Drones

    AESA · opened 2026-10-08

    Research id 15 in the main brief. A hub page with no modification date of its own, used only for the authority URL and to navigate to the rule pages.

  36. S36official

    Registro de operadores de UAS (second URL of the same procedure sheet)

    AESA, Sede Electrónica · document dated 2025-09-05 · opened 2026-10-08

    Research id 13 in the main brief, counted there as a separate source. It is the same procedure sheet as S16 under an index.php URL, so the research report's duplicate row is dropped and the two are recorded as one procedure reached two ways.

  37. S37press

    Un dron vuela sin autorización durante las fiestas del Carmen en Puerto de la Cruz

    Radio Televisión Canaria · document dated 2025-07-30 · opened 2026-10-08

    carecía de cualquier título y de seguro de responsabilidad civil

    The primary report on the Tenerife case and the one the research report never found. It gives the event date of 15 July 2025, the trace to the Hotel Las Águilas, the seizure of the aircraft, the AESA referral and the three authorised professional drones at the event, and states no fine amount at all.

  38. S38press

    Foreigner faces fine of up to €200,000 for flying drone during Canarian festival without authorisation

    DANews · document dated 2025-07-31 · opened 2026-10-08

    Foreigner faces fine of up to €200,000

    Where the 200,000 euro figure originates, presented as the ceiling of the very serious band and not as an imposed fine. DroneDJ, PetaPixel and DroneXL all credit this page; several secondary pages then print the ceiling as a fine that was issued.

  39. S39secondary

    5 Common Drone Law Mistakes That Cost You Money

    DroneGuideEU · document dated 2025-12-01 · opened 2026-10-08

    In July 2025, a British tourist flying a drone in Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife, found this out the hard way.

    Research id 7 in the practice brief and its only source for the Tenerife case. Reachable and it does describe the case with the correct July 2025 month, but it names no festival, no day and no source. The research report took this page's publication date, 1 December 2025, as the event date.

  40. S40press

    Polizei holt Drohne über Almudaina-Palast vom Himmel

    Mallorca Magazin · document dated 2025-08-26 · opened 2026-10-08

    wurde den zuständigen Behörden übergeben

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. A Serbian citizen, the drone brought down by the PEGASO air security team on the preceding Sunday, the pilot handed to the authorities over several administrative violations. No amount stated.

  41. S41press

    Drohnen-Alarm am Flughafen Palma de Mallorca: Flugbetrieb zeitweise eingestellt, Verspätungen

    Mallorca Magazin · document dated 2025-10-19 · opened 2026-10-08

    Woher die Drohne kam, ist bisher nicht bekannt

    Published on the day, so it carries the event date and the detail the research report's source did not: Sunday 19 October 2025, about 35 minutes, operations resumed at 19:39, eight inbound aircraft diverted, origin never established.

  42. S42press

    Fines up to 4.5 million euros for operating drones in the vicinity of Palma Airport

    Majorca Daily Bulletin · document dated 2025-10-21 · opened 2026-10-08

    The range of fines for operating an unauthorised drone in the vicinity of Palma Son Sant Joan Airport is from 60 euros to 4.5 million

    Research ids 12 and 14 in the practice brief are the same article: the /related.html URL serves this identical page plus a related-links module, so the report counted one article twice. The headline it attributed to id 14, about a Royal Family security zone, is a related link to a 2022 story and not that page.

  43. S43press

    Flights diverted as drone sighting shuts down Alicante-Elche airport

    Travel Tomorrow · document dated 2025-10-28 · opened 2026-10-08

    Flights were suspended for nearly two hours

    Research id 6. Carries the event date in its own text, 27 October 2025, along with at least one drone near the perimeter and the specialist aerial unit deployed. It also repeats the 200,000 euro Tenerife figure as background, which is how that number spreads.

  44. S44press

    Els punts de Barcelona amb més drons no autoritzats, segons la Guàrdia Civil

    Nació Digital · document dated 2025-10-27 · opened 2026-10-08

    les zones més comuns on s'han detectat vols irregulars són espais turístics com el barri de la Barceloneta, el Parc Güell, el Tibidabo, la Sagrada Família o Montjuïc

    Found during verification by searching the Catalan press. It supplies the 261 drone-rule reports filed across Barcelona in 2024 and the Guàrdia Civil's own list of the five places where irregular flights are most often detected, which replaces the research report's finding that no Barcelona evidence existed.

  45. S45press

    Sanciones de hasta 225.000 euros por volar un dron ilegal: interceptan en Marbella tres dispositivos no autorizados

    Málaga Hoy · document dated 2025-11-21 · opened 2026-10-08

    Tras la identificación de los pilotos, se llevó a cabo la correspondiente interceptación de los aparatos, ya que los mismos carecían de las autorizaciones y de las coordinaciones aeronáuticas exigidas.

    Research id 10, fetched with a browser user agent because this host refuses our fetcher. It carries two statistics nothing else does: 90 per cent of the drone sanctions processed in eastern Andalusia in 2024 were for sub-250 g aircraft, and air traffic had been interrupted at five Spanish airports that year by unauthorised drones. Its 21 November date is the publication date; the interception happened earlier in November, during the Ironman.

  46. S46press

    Fines ranging from €1,000 to €225,000 for 3 drone operators in Marbella

    Euro Weekly News · document dated 2025-11-22 · opened 2026-10-08

    fine proposals have been forwarded to AESA under the Air Safety Law 21/2003

    Research id 5. English corroboration of the same Marbella event as S45, adding permanent confiscation of the aircraft. The practice brief listed it as a separate incident one day later; it is one event covered twice.

  47. S47press

    Dos turistas, sancionados por volar drones en el interior de la Mezquita de Córdoba

    Onda Vasca · document dated 2026-03-23 · opened 2026-10-08

    dos personas que realizaban turismo en la capital cordobesa

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. Two tourists in the Patio de los Naranjos, one flight on the Saturday around 12:00 and a similar one the next day, no prior notice to the Ministry of the Interior or the airport authority, proposals of 600 to 60,000 euros. The same wire ran on deia.eus, which answers HTTP 406 here.

  48. S48press

    Drohne über der Kathedrale: Urlauber droht Strafe von bis zu 225.000 Euro

    Mallorca Magazin · document dated 2026-04-06 · opened 2026-10-08

    Die Beamten beschlagnahmten die Drohne und leiteten ein Ordnungswidrigkeitsverfahren ein

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. A tourist's drone over Palma Cathedral during a Holy Week benefit concert attended by Queen Sofía; police traced the signal, confiscated the drone and opened proceedings at 1,000 to 225,000 euros. The article gives no day for the flight. The Spanish original is on mallorcadiario.com, which answers HTTP 403 to every client here.

  49. S49press

    Denuncian a un portugués por pilotar a la vez dos drones en la procesión de la Esperanza

    Ávilared · document dated 2026-04-16 · opened 2026-10-08

    el Lunes Santo, 30 de marzo

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. A Portuguese citizen flying two drones at once over the procesión de La Esperanza in the plaza de Concepción Arenal, made to land and identified by the National Police, reported for grave infractions with no amount stated.

  50. S50press

    A drone forces operations to be halted at Lanzarote airport

    La Voz de Lanzarote · document dated 2026-04-26 · opened 2026-10-08

    around 4:30 PM this Sunday, April 26

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. Flights halted for minutes at César Manrique-Lanzarote, no operator identified, 60 to 225,000 euros quoted for recreational use.

  51. S51press

    Susto en Gran Canaria: un dron se cuela en la pista del aeropuerto y paraliza los vuelos

    Diario de Avisos · document dated 2026-07-30 · opened 2026-10-08

    desde una playa cercana, donde su dueño volaba sin las autorizaciones ni precauciones necesarias

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. Saturday 25 July 2026: the drone reached the airport from a nearby beach, the Guardia Civil recovered it inside the airport and identified the owner, the Pegaso team notified the aviation authority and proceedings were opened with permanent confiscation possible. The only located case that did not begin as a deliberate flight at a sensitive site.

  52. S52press

    Police seize unauthorised drone over Malaga Feria 2026 opening show: Fines up to €90,000

    Euro Weekly News · document dated 2026-08-15 · opened 2026-10-08

    Officers eventually located a 27-year-old man

    Research id 8. The practice brief cited this page and used it in its Section C, but never listed the incident and then stated that its newest located report was May 2026. Friday 14 August 2026 around 23:55 over Málaga Port during the official drone show; the provincial aerial unit seized the drone; 2,500 to 90,000 euros. The newest confirmed report in the set.

  53. S53press

    Briton facing a 30,000 euro fine for filming popular Mallorca event with a drone

    Majorca Daily Bulletin · document dated 2025-02-04 · opened 2026-10-08

    A 40-year-old British man is facing a 30,000 euro fine after he filmed the popular Correfoc (festival of fire) event in Palma last month with an unlicensed drone in a restricted area.

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. The only single figure, rather than a band, attached to any located case. The article gives no day for the flight, does not say the drone was seized and does not mention AESA. The Spanish original is on mallorcadiario.com, which answers HTTP 403 here.

  54. S54press

    Un piloto de dron es denunciado por vuelo ilegal y sin permisos durante las inundaciones de marzo

    Ávilared · document dated 2025-05-31 · opened 2026-10-08

    entre los 60 a los 225.000 euros

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. 21 March 2025 over Ávila during a level 2 flood emergency, identified and denounced by the National Police air security unit and the Local Police and referred to AESA. A resident, not a visitor. The URL slug promises a fine that the article's own headline and text do not report, so the headline is the one recorded here.

  55. S55press

    Foreign tourist facing fine after crashing drone into Spain's world-famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba

    The Olive Press · document dated 2023-10-01 · opened 2026-10-08

    crashed into the tower of the structure but without causing any material damage

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident. A foreign tourist flying from the Patio de los Naranjos at about 10am on the Thursday before publication, which is 28 September 2023; the National Police took the device; 60 to 225,000 euros. The article gives the weekday rather than the date.

  56. S56press

    La Policía neutraliza dos drones en la regata de vela en Mallorca que disputa el rey Felipe VI

    Vozpópuli · document dated 2022-08-02 · opened 2026-10-08

    propuestos para sanción

    Found during verification; the research report does not list this incident and it is the oldest report in the set. Two drones about 300 m from the Copa del Rey de Vela security circle, around 12:30 and 17:30, flown by a US citizen and a Polish tourist, both proposed for sanction before AESA at 600 to 250,000 euros. The official Ministry of the Interior release carrying the same facts answers HTTP 403 to every client here, so this press copy is used instead.

  57. S57secondary

    Drone Laws in Spain (2026): Rules, Fines, No-Fly Zones

    DronesGator · document dated 2026-03 · opened 2026-10-08

    All 15 Spanish national parks prohibit drone flights.

    Research id 1 and the only source behind six of the practice brief's twelve hotspot rows. It is a rule-and-advice guide, not a record of enforcement: it restates the park prohibitions and calls Balearic rural areas relatively drone-friendly. It reports the Tenerife case with the correct July 2025 date, which the brief's own incident table did not carry.

  58. S58press

    Anulada una sanción de 13.000 € a un operador de drones

    El Derecho · document dated 2017-07-17 · opened 2026-10-08

    visionados de videos y capturas de pantalla realizados por un funcionario, no son suficientes para adquirir certeza probatoria

    Found during verification. The only final outcome of an AESA drone sanction located anywhere: the Juzgado Central de lo Contencioso Administrativo number 1 annulled a 13,000 euro sanction for flying over a crowd and at night. It concerns a commercial filming operator in 2017, so it does not inform the level; it is recorded because it is the only evidence of what happens after a proposal reaches AESA.

  59. S59secondary

    Drone fines in Spain: what they cost and how to avoid them

    Umiles Group · document dated 2026-03-20 · opened 2026-10-08

    In 2025 alone, the national police monitored more than 1,500 drone flights in Castilla y León and proposed 82 sanctions.

    The only page located anywhere carrying enforcement statistics for Spain, and it cites nothing for them. It also prints a 370 euro fine for a DJI Mini 3 at 83.7 m near Cuatro Vientos in 2024, which would be the only small real fine on record. A Spanish-language search for both claims found nothing, so neither is published in the practice block.