Request permission to fly drone in controlled airspace

  • 2

    Check if your flight will take place inside controlled airspace, find your location at the dronechart where you can see whether you are inside a control zone (CTR), or in other words near an airport.

    If your flight will take place outside of controlled airspace you don’t need to continue with the steps below. If your flight will be at or below 50 meters above ground level AND outside those circles on the dronechart that represent a distance of 5km from a runway (or 1km from a helipad) you may not need permission from Air Traffic Control, depending on the category of your drone.

  • 3

    Send an email with information regarding your drone flight to the relevant Air Traffic Control tower (see contact details on this page).

    For drone flights in Kalmar, Trollhättan and Säve CTR you need to pass your flight information via the web service www.dronerequest.app instead of via email. Skip down to #4 (you  still need to call the tower on the phone for permission before you start your flight).

    • Name and telephone number to the pilot responsible for the drone flight. Air Traffic Control must be able to reach you on the submitted telephone number during your entire flight. Air Traffic Control may need to interrupt your flight on short notice.
    • Date and approximate time of flight.
    • Approximate street adress and flying height (meters above ground).
    • A map image where you have outlined the entire area in which the drone will fly (for example a screenshot from the dronechart, google maps etc. where you have outlined/circled the area). The map should be sufficently ”zoomed out” as to clearly show what part of the city etc. it is in.

    You do NOT have permission to fly the drone simply because this information is submitted. Keep on reading below.

  • 4

    When you are ready to fly the drone you need to call the Air Traffic Control tower (see contact details on this page) to obtain verbal permission to perform the flight according to your submitted information.

    Air Traffic Control staffing varies throughout the day and your call may not be connected at first attempt (the controller may be busy managing traffic over the radio). You do NOT have permission to fly until you have received verbal permission to do so, regardless if you submitted information. 

    To confirm that an Air Traffic Control unit is closed (i e to confirm that the airspace is not controlled at the moment) you can contact the watch supervisor at the relevant area & terminal control center

    • Watch supervisor ATCC Stockholm 08 – 585 547 00
      (for Borlänge, Gällivare, Jönköping, Kalmar, Karlstad, Norrköping, Nyköping (Skavsta), Skellefteå, Torsby, Västerås, Växjö and Örebro)
    • Watch supervisor ATCC Malmö 040 – 613 24 00
      (for Göteborg (Säve), Kristianstad, Ljungbyhed, Trollhättan and Ängelholm)

    If you can confirm that the relevant Air Traffic Control tower is closed (answering machine etc.) you may however fly according to your submitted information without verbal permission. If the air traffic control tower is closed, the airspace is uncontrolled.

    Since an Air Traffic Control tower can open during your drone flight (thus the airspace becoming controlled), it is still important that you can be reached on your submitted telephone number during the entire flight.

  • 5

    When your drone flight is completed you need to call Air Traffic Control and notify.

    As long as Air Traffic Control has information that your drone is flying, it will mean restrictions on other traffic (airplanes,helicopters etc.) in the area. We don’t want to maintain such restrictions longer than necessary.

Use Dronerequest – for flight safety!

When you use Dronerequest to notify of your drone flight, you contribute to increased flight safety. Your drone flight area will be visible as a flight hazard to pilots onboard the Swedish police helicopters, Search- and rescue helicopters and all ambulance helicopters based in Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

With this in mind, it is very valuable if you notify of your drone flight even if it takes place outside of Air Traffic Services’ (Control tower’s) hours of operation. It is also important that you stick to (or amend) the flight times you submitted through Dronerequest.

Although only 3 airports are currently enrolled, 14 more are coming shortly as the list on this site reveals.