When you are planing your trip in Spain with your own drone, dreaming of discovering a couple of great locations to let your drone fly around to make breathtaking movies from a bird's-eye view, making your friends and family at home drool like a leaky faucet when you show them the results of your beloved hobby and your holidays in paradise and selling your perfect footage to business for  considerable payoff, the Spain police will break all of these beautiful dreams. And mainly you will be on the cards to get fined or even detained. In this article, we have summarized for you the drone laws  to guide you how to fly drone legally in Spain.

The following are the content list:

• How to bring your drone to Spain by air?

• How fly your drone legally in Spain?

• Conclusion

How To Bring Your Drone to Spain by Air?

According to the Montreal convention, when you go on a holiday or on a business trip by air with your luggage, airlines are liable for only up to around ~$1,000 USD of baggage losses. Every connection during your trip, is a chance for the drone to get lost. So what now?

Purchase an insurance: Small drones can be brought onboard the plane with you. If you want to ensure your drone's safty, purchasing a insurance is a better solution. The supplementary insurance will covers for the full value of the drone and its accessories

Shipped via Fedex, DHL or UPS: Larger drones are recommended to be shipped via Fedex, DHL or UPS. These companies fully insure your drone from departure to delivery

Buy a drone backpack: a backpack can protect your drone from damaging during travelling.

How To Fly My Drone Legally In Spain?

1. Fly your drones in legal flying places

I recommend you going straight to IcarusRPA, a Spanish webpage with a map that outlines all the  forbidden zones. 

2. Fly your drones below the maximum flight altitude

As General Spain Drone Laws, drones are only allowed to fly up to 120 meters (394 feet) above the ground. Or you’ll get fined.

3. Maximum horizontal distance and FPV

Drone flights are always to be flown within the visual line of sight, which means that the UAV shall not be more than 500 meters(about 1524feet) away from the pilot. During FPV flights, a second visual observer must monitor the drone with the eye and be in direct contact with the pilot to ensure the drones fly within legal range.

4. Maximum take-off weight (MTOW)

Now, there are differences between private drone flying and commercial usage. As a Commercial pilot, you can obtain permission up to a weight of 150 kilograms. For private flights, the maximum weight of 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds). But ask the AESA, if your copter weighs more.

5. Distance to airport

In a controlled airspace, It is forbidden to fly drones.  in uncontrolled airspace, Drone pilots must maintain a distance of at least 8 kilometers (5 miles) to airports, heliport or airfield. For flights that are approved to be operated beyond visual line of sight you must stay 15km (9.4 miles) away from airports or in areas where aircraft are operating. To avoid your drone could collide with other type of manned aircrafts, such as paragliders.

6. Flight bans

Drone pilots must maintain a distance of 150 meters (492 feet) from buildings and settlements and a distance of 50 meters (164 feet) or more from gatherings of people not involved in the flight. Additional conditions may apply in nature reserves for example People-frequented beaches, concerts, streets of any town, parks, sports fields, etc. But if your drone weighs less than 250 grams and a flight height of 20 meters above ground, flights over buildings and people are allowed.

7. Flight approval

Do not fly your drone over national parks without a permission. Flights in national parks need to be allowed by AESA and the use of drones in no-fly zones must be approved by the Spanish Ministry of Defense (processing time approximately one week).

8. Time of operations

If your drone with a take-off weight of less than 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds), flights may also be carried out at night as long as a flight altitude of 50 meters (164 feet) above the ground is not exceeded. If your copter weights more than 2kg, it may only be flown during the day.

9. Capture footage

As a Commercial drone user, you can sell your aerial photos and videos. If you want to see footage from the ground montior, we recommend use the long range wireless hdmi transmitter and receiver. There are many different types drone fpv transmitter and receiver for various range. However as a private polit, you can't do this without having a license, security, and official permission from the AESA (Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aerea). To get the permission, write an email to drones.aesa@seguridadaerea.es

Conclusion

Regional authorities can issue their regulations for the operation of drones and laws and regulations always change. Therefore it is always useful to call the Spanish embassy in your home country to get information about the actual rules for flying a drone on Spain.