The ‘open’ category of civil drones is the category of low risk flight for which no operational authorisation or pre-flight declaration is required.
This is the main and differential characteristic of this category, because if you had to ask for any kind of authorisation or declaration you would no longer be performing your activity in the ‘open category’ but in the ‘specific category’ or in the ‘certified category’.
Even if you are not subject to having to register as a drone operator and you can fly a drone without a licence with complete freedom, I recommend you read my article on what are the 5 minimum requirements to fly a drone in Spain.
It is essential that you are fully aware of these requirements so that you do not receive a fine for flying a drone in Spain under irregular conditions, and above all to avoid damage to structures or worse, people.
Minimum documentation to fly a drone in open category
Art. 14:
- You are required to have drone liability insurance to fly your drone just if you meet a number of requirements, except for those declared as toys. The prices of these insurances vary depending on the insurer and whether your activity will be recreational or professional.
This will be maintained until the next Royal Decree comes out, in which it is expected that drones weighing less than 250 grams will not have to have insurance, and the distinction between types of drone insurance (recreational and professional) will disappear and there will be only one type. Check out the changes that have taken place with regard to civil liability insurance with the new UAS royal decree. Translated with DeepL.com (free version) Not all drones are required to have one anymore, although I always recommend it. - Registration as a drone operator is mandatory depending on the drone and the category in which you carry out your operation. This registration, if it has to be done at all, should be done only once and in the Member State of usual residence. However, with the change in regulations, anyone coming from abroad will have to register with the Ministry of the Interior, even if they have already done so in their EU country of origin.
- Currently you are not obliged to put a fireproof identification plate, but you are obliged to put your drone operator number on all your drones, and if you add any other personal data if you lose it, you will be able to recover it.
- In case you operate with observers to assist you in your piloting, you should have procedures in place to coordinate the activities between them and establish a list of personnel and tasks assigned to them.
Requirements for the open category for drones
Please note that drone flights in the ‘open’ category must comply with the requirements of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947, which are set out in Art. 4:
- Your drone weighs less than 25 kg.
- Volar a una distancia “segura” de personas y no sobrevolar concentraciones de ellas: manifestaciones, conciertos, eventos deportivos etc.. Esto último está definido en el artículo 2.3:
- It is defined by concentrations of people when the density of these does not allow a safe dissolution of them to avoid the impact of the drone in case of fall.
- The drone to be operated belongs to one of the classes already established in Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/45, is privately built or meets the conditions established for drones without class marking.
- MTOM (masa máxima al despegue) inferior a 25 kg
- Maintain a horizontal safe distance from outsiders without overflying concentrations of people.
- Always keep the drone at a distance that can be seen (VLOS), unless we are using the “follow me” mode, or when we have observers (article 2.24) that can visually follow the unmanned aircraft.
- Maximum flight height of 120 meters from the closest point to the surface, always following the terrain orography.
- The UAS shall not drop any object and shall not carry dangerous goods.
- Interrupt the flight in case of danger with other aircraft, people, animals or anything else.
- Read the manual and follow the manufacturer’s instructions
- NEVER drive under the influence of drugs or alcohol, the consequences can be disastrous in every way.
- Do not fly if any relief or emergency work was being carried out in the area.
Minimum age of remote pilots
Requirements listed in Art. 9:
- The minimum age for remote pilots in the open drone category is 12-14 years old.
- No se exigirá edad mínima a los pilotos:
- They operate in subcategory A1 with a class 0 drone type (explained below) and their manufacturer lists it as a toy (drones that are designed for persons under 14 years of age), i.e. UAS that do not require registration as a drone operator.
- Private construction drones with a MTOM of less than 250gr (these drones may not have an image capture system).
- Los Estados miembros pueden reducir la edad mínima dependiendo los riesgos y las operaciones relacionadas en su territorio:
- In 4 years in open category
- Up to 2 years if piloting in a specific category
- This reduction is only applicable to the UAS of that Member State.
- Member States may also specify a different minimum age for remote pilots in the framework of clubs and associations.
Drones without class marking (‘legacy’) other than privately built drones
Provisions on the use of drones in the open category are laid down in Art. 20 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947.
Legacy drones are drones that have been introduced on the market before 1 January 2024, that do not belong to C0, C1, C2, C3 or C4 and that cannot be fitted with the drone remote identifier, which is mandatory for all drones since 1 January that want to fly outside the open category.
Legacy drones may be used if:
- The MTOM of the UAS + payload + is strong, <250 grams, in subcategory A1.
- The MTOM of the UAS + fuel + payload + is strong, <25kg, in subcategory A3.
Legacy, C0 and privately built drones:
- NON-PARTICIPANTS (people who are NOT aware of the instructions and safety precautions of the operation) may fly over, but not concentrations of people.
- Familiar with the drone manufacturer’s instructions.
- Con UAS de menos de 250 gr no tendrás que realizar el registro en AESA como operador, solo si tu dron:
- It has a MTOM (maximum take-off mass) greater than 250 grams.
- Can transfer more than 80J of energy on impact.
- It is equipped with a sensor to capture personal data (photography, video or sound), unless the drone manufacturer states in the instructions that the drone is a toy (in accordance with Directive 2009/48/EC).
In this category would be for example the MINI 2 and MINI 3 PRO.
Subdivisions of the ‘open’ category: A1, A2, and A3
The ‘open’ category of civil drones is divided into 3 subcategories: A1, A2, and A3.
Subcategory A1 of the ‘open’ category (drones weighing less than 250 gr)
In this flight, avoidance is performed:
- Flying over persons not involved in the flight operation, i.e. it is not allowed to fly over persons not involved in the operation.
- It is not allowed to fly over groups or concentrations of people.
Drones wishing to operate in this subcategory must comply with the following:
- It is not mandatory to obtain a drone license through the exam but highly recommended.
- Be privately built drones with a MTOM strong, <open250 grams, and with a maximum speed strong, <19 m/s. The DJI Mini 3 with a maximum speed of 13 m/s is an example.
Another more economical example could be the Holy Stone HS440. - Drones without class marking and having entered the market before 1 January 2024 with the requirements for ‘drones without class marking’.
- Con etiqueta de marcado de clase 0:
- < 250 g
- < 19 m/s
- Power supply
- Con etiqueta de marcado de clase 1:
- A drone licence needs to be obtained through a test that can be taken free of charge on the AESA website.
- You may not fly over groups of people or NON-PARTICIPANTS, and limit the flight time over people who have unexpectedly gotten inside the boundaries where we are operating.
- MTOM <900 g or transmitted impact energy < 80 J
- Maximum horizontal flight speed of 19 m/s
- Power supply
- Unique serial number
- Direct and network remote identification system
- Geo-awareness system
- Low battery warning system for drone and control station
Drones weighing less than 250 grams have less flight restrictions than the rest, but you should know that you cannot fly freely wherever you want, you may be subject to flight restrictions in certain areas.
Consult the Enaire drones map to know the status of the area where you want to operate and request the corresponding permits if required. And especially now with the change of regulations (RD 517/2024) which no longer allows flying in population centres without prior notification to the Ministry of the Interior.
As examples of drones for this class 1 you would have the DJI AIR 3 and the MAVIC 3 with a weight of 899gr, at the limit of the A2 subcategory which is 900gr.
Subcategory A2 of the category ‘open’.
In this subcategory:
- You may not fly above any non-participant.
- You must maintain a horizontal distance of at least 30 m from persons not involved in the operation or flight, but you may fly at a distance of 5 m if a low speed mode (3 m/s) is available.
In this subcategory, only drones bearing a Class 2 marking label, i.e. complying with the following, may fly:
- MTOM < 4 Kg
- Power supply
- Unique serial number
- Direct and network remote identification system
- Geo-awareness system
- Low battery warning system for drone and control station
- It must be equipped with a protected data link to prevent misappropriation of the equipment by persons not involved in the operation.
- It must be equipped with lights to control the attitude of the drone and night flight.
Subcategory A3 of the category ‘open’.
In the next subcategory of the ‘open’ drone category, A3, the operations to be carried out must be in:
- Areas where outsiders are safe.
- A minimum horizontal safety distance of 150 metres from residential, commercial, industrial or recreational areas.
UAS or drones eligible to fly in this subcategory must comply with the following:
- Private construction with a MTOM <25 kg
- Not class-marked and placed on the market before 1 January 2024, with the requirements for UAS without class marking
- Carry class C2 marking label
- Etiqueta de marcado de clase C3 y que cumplan lo siguiente:
- MTOM <25 kg with dimensions less than 3 m
- Power supply
- Unique serial number
- Direct and network remote identification system
- Geo-awareness system
- Low battery warning system for drone and control station
- Equipped with protection against misappropriation by someone outside the operation
- Attitude control and night flight lights
- Llevar etiqueta de marcado de clase C4 y que cumplan lo siguiente:
- MTOM <25 kg
- Controllable and safely manoeuvrable by a pilot at a distance according to manufacturer’s instructions
- No automatic control modes except to assist the flight without any direct effect on the trajectory and for assistance in case we lose the signal between the remote control and the UAS (RTH – Return to home).
- For the purpose of practising aeromodelling
Night flight in open drone category
Can a drone be flown at night? The answer is yes. Although attention to the considerations to be taken into account:
- Must have a green flashing light (this is mandatory from 1 July 2022 according to Article 23.3 of the regulation.
- 【Luces Estroboscópicas LED para Aviones】Las…
- Cannot fly at an altitude higher than 50 meters
- It is advisable to know the terrain beforehand where the operation is going to be carried out, and even better if it has been flown before, in this way we will be able to know the orography of the terrain, whether there is any type of wiring or not, in short, any possible obstruction for the drone, as at night the sensors do not work as they do during the day.
Drone courses for ‘open’ category of civil drones
Today, AESA offers you the possibility to obtain the A1-A3 drone pilot license, which is the minimum to fly drones in the least restrictive scenarios, free of charge.
You can also register for free to take the A2 drone pilot theory test.
For the A2 practical exam for other more advanced types of flying licences, such as standard scenarios (STS-01 and STS-02), and outside the ‘open drone category’, you will need to contact pilot schools to take one of the drone courses they offer. From my own experience I would NEVER do a course with AEROCAMERAS.
If you want to level up, leave recreational flying behind and earn money flying drones, as I decided to do one day, first of all, draw up a good strategy, study how far you want to go in the aeronautical world and get your hands on the type of drone pilot licence you need to do so.
I can help you if you need some tips or advice on which drone to buy, and start using it. Contact me for that.
After reading this article, do you have any doubts or are you unclear about something? In which category do you usually fly? What drone do you have and what uses do you usually use it for? Tell me about it, your opinion and experience interests me and the readers of this blog of drones.
Information obtained from the official AESA website on the ‘Open’ category for drones in Spain, more information.
