Corporate Information & Reports

UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLES OR SYSTEMS

Below you can find information to assist you with flying your drone safely to ensure that you are not posing a risk to any aircraft or people.

How to inform London City Airport of your drone or any unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).

All unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) or systems (UASs) within our aerodrome used for commercial reasons or privately owned should be assessed and documented by London City Airport and by NATS. In accordance with Article 94 of the 2016 Air Navigation Order (ANO 2016), a UAV for commercial purposes requires permission from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

A 5km 'no drone zone' (FRZ) around the airport also applies. The exclusion zone stretches from Canary Wharf in the west to Thamesmead in the east, as well as a radius stretching from Woolwich to the south and East Ham in the north.

Current rules require drone pilots within the flight restriction zone (FRZ) to acquire a NATS Non-Standard Flight (NSF) approval. Applications for NSFs should be made with a minimum of 21 days’ notice. Applications submitted less than 7 days in advance of the flight may not be processed.

NSF applications within the FRZ are forwarded to London City Airport and other airspace stakeholders by NATS for review. Approval from NATS is needed for flying a drone within the aerodrome space.

Please note that you must file an NSF even if you wish to fly outside of airport operating hours.

UAV pilots are responsible for their aircraft and UAVs should not take off without the pilot being confident that he/she can carry out the planned flight under current or predicted conditions.

To access the most up to date guidance on UAVs please visit the drone safe website.

Drone legislation

Drone legislation is changing rapidly in the UK, to ensure you receive the most recent instruction please check CAA and NATS websites or dronesafe.uk, a website developed by NATS and the CAA.

From 30th November 2019, new CAA regulations come into effect which require all drones over 250g to be registered.

Drones can be registered via this website: https://register-drones.caa.co.uk/ If you have any questions or require any further information, please contact the Aerodrome Operations department on 02076462247.