More room for drones around Dutch airports from November 26
From November 26, 2026, drone pilots in the Open category will gain access to designated parts of the civil Control Zones (CTRs) around five Dutch airports. In these areas, pilots will no longer be required to establish radio contact with air traffic control before conducting a drone flight. The measure creates additional operating space for drones near airports including Amsterdam Schiphol and Rotterdam The Hague Airport.
More room around civil airports
The changes apply to the civil CTRs around Amsterdam Schiphol, Rotterdam, Groningen, Maastricht and Lelystad airports. The new airspace structure was developed by the Dutch Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management (IenW) together with Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL).
According to the ministry, the newly designated areas have been carefully selected and assessed as safe. At around five kilometers from an airport and beyond, manned aircraft taking off and landing generally operate at higher altitudes, allowing low-level drone operations without direct communication with air traffic control in the designated areas.
The new rules are intended to facilitate applications such as infrastructure inspections, nature conservation and other commercial drone operations, while reducing the workload for air traffic control.
Specific category also affected
The changes are not limited to pilots operating in the Open category. Operators in the Specific category will also benefit from the new airspace structure. In the outer parts of the CTRs, radio communication with air traffic control (RT) will no longer be required.
Military CTRs are not affected by the changes. The existing restrictions around military airports will remain in place.
Check the latest airspace information
The new zones will eventually be incorporated into airspace information apps such as GoDrone and Aeret. However, the partial opening of the CTRs does not mean that the airspace around airports is generally unrestricted.
Other geographical zones may still apply within or outside the CTRs, for example around heliports or critical infrastructure. Drone pilots will therefore still need to check the applicable airspace restrictions before each flight.
