More airspace for drones around civil airports from 26 November

It has taken a long time, but the revision of the airspace around Dutch airports is now final. From 26 November 2026, parts of the civil Control Zones (CTRs) around five airports will be opened up for drone flights. In those designated areas, drone pilots will no longer have to request permission from air traffic control in advance. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management developed the new layout together with Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL).

It is one of the most significant changes to Dutch drone airspace in recent years. At the same time, it is a measure that raises plenty of questions: where exactly does it apply, which categories benefit, and what does not change? In this article we set out the new layout step by step, including the practical consequences for professional drone operators.

What exactly is a CTR?

A Control Zone, or CTR, is the air traffic control area around an airport. Such a zone typically spans roughly 15 kilometres around the airport. Within that zone, regular air traffic is subject to active control: tower and approach traffic is planned and separated there.

Until now, a single obligation applied to drones across the entire CTR: drone pilots had to contact air traffic control before they could fly there. That rule was not only an administrative burden for the pilot, it also placed load on the controllers themselves. Every request requires human assessment, while the majority of those requests concern flights that do not actually conflict with manned traffic.

What changes from 26 November 2026

From 26 November, the radiotelephony requirement lapses in the newly designated parts of the CTR. The logic behind it is spatial: at roughly five kilometres from the airport and beyond, departing and arriving manned traffic is generally already at greater altitude. A drone pilot flying close to the ground at that moment therefore does not need to be in continuous contact with air traffic control.

The new zones are designated as lower airspace volumes where continuous radio contact is not required. In concrete terms this means the following:

• Outer parts of the CTR (roughly 5 km and beyond): radiotelephony no longer required. This applies in the areas designated under the new layout.
• Within a radius of roughly 5 kilometres: clearance from air traffic control remains mandatory. Nothing changes in the existing procedure here.
• Outside the designated zones: the existing rules and restrictions remain fully in force.

Importantly, the partial opening emphatically does not mean the airspace around airports is fully released for drones. It is a targeted relaxation within carefully chosen boundaries.

Which airports the change applies to

The changes relate exclusively to civil CTRs. The new layout applies to the following five airports:

Around military airports, the existing restrictions remain in force. Drone pilots therefore cannot benefit from the new layout there. Want to know how requesting drone flights in military CTRs works? See the drone map for the Netherlands for the current zones and procedures.

Consequences for the Specific category too

The changes are not limited to drone pilots in the Open category. For operators flying in the EASA Specific category, things change as well. In the outer parts of the CTRs, radiotelephony (RT) will no longer be required. That removes a practical barrier for professional drone operations too.

This is a relevant point for companies that regularly operate in the vicinity of airports, for example for infrastructure inspections, site management or capturing activity in the immediate surroundings of a terminal or apron. Where an RT obligation previously applied on top of the operational authorisation, that additional condition disappears in the designated zones. Within a radius of five kilometres, clearance from LVNL remains required.

For professional assignments in complex airspace, an operational authorisation in the Specific category remains necessary. You can read more about that on our page about drone pilots and in our earlier background piece on the relaxation of drone flights in CTR airspace.

Why this change is being introduced now

There are two sides to the rationale. On the one hand, the current rules place a considerable load on air traffic control, which must free up capacity for every drone request within a CTR. On the other, those same rules limit the useful deployment of drones in places where it can be done safely, technically and operationally.

The ministry explicitly names applications that contribute to safety and to the Dutch drone sector: drones inspecting dikes and other vital infrastructure, protecting nature reserves, or being deployed for innovative economic applications. The new layout is intended to make that kind of operation possible at locations where the risk assessment permits it.

There is an enforcement component to this as well. By defining more clearly where flying is and is not permitted, a more unambiguous framework emerges. That makes it clearer for drone users what is allowed, and enables more targeted action against violations.

New zones in GoDrone and Aeret

The new CTR layout will in time become visible in the usual digital sources for drone pilots. The amended zones will be included in, among others, the GoDrone app and Aeret, so that you can check in advance where the new rules apply.

Alongside these official sources, professional operators increasingly record their flight preparation in a drone management platform. DroneDeck combines a map with all airspaces and geo zones with flight plans, risk assessments and checklists in one environment. That lets you verify which zones apply for each flight, while keeping the supporting documentation together. You can also read our background article on DroneDeck as a drone management platform.

That is not a formality. The maps are authoritative when planning a flight, and the change is being rolled out in phases across the various systems. Always check the current version of the map in the days around 26 November, and not a previously saved or shared version.

What remains prohibited after 26 November

It is tempting to read the new layout as a general relaxation around airports. It is not. Within and outside the amended CTRs, other geographical zones may remain in force, for example around helicopter landing sites, vital infrastructure or other locations subject to specific restrictions. Those zones do not change as a result of the new layout of the areas around the airports.

The general rules from the Open category also continue to apply in full. Consider maximum flight altitude, distance rules from crowds, and the obligation to keep watching the airspace and surroundings. The new CTR layout changes none of that. Drone pilots must therefore, even after 26 November, check in advance which restrictions apply at the intended location.

For flights in the Specific category, the conditions in the operational authorisation continue to apply as well. An exemption from radiotelephony is not a free pass: the risk assessment, the mitigation measures and any additional requirements around night flights or flying outside the Uniform Daylight Period (UDP) remain applicable.

A practical checklist for the transition

For operators who regularly work around one of the five named airports, it is sensible to prepare for the transition in a structured way. The following points help:

• Check the current map per location: use GoDrone or Aeret and verify whether your regular flight location actually falls within a newly designated zone.
• Measure the distance to the airport: determine whether you operate at or beyond the roughly five kilometre boundary. Within that radius, clearance remains required.
• Inventory other zones: additionally check for helicopter landing sites, vital infrastructure and other restrictions that are not changing.
• Update your documentation: amend operational manuals, flight preparation and checklists where they still assume a general RT obligation within the CTR.
• Brief your crew: make sure pilots and observers know the new boundaries, including the distinction between civil and military CTRs.
• When in doubt, make contact: if the situation is unclear, coordinating with air traffic control in advance is always the safe choice.

Responsibility for safety ultimately rests with the pilot. More permissive regulation is no substitute for good preparation and a current picture of the airspace.

The wider picture: airspace revision in the Netherlands

The measure forms part of a longer-announced revision of the airspace around civil airports. In doing so, the Netherlands is following developments elsewhere in Europe, where several countries have revised their CTR regimes for drones in recent months. Germany recently relaxed its rules for drone flights in CTR airspace, for example, and procedures for military CTRs are also in motion.

The new layout is at the same time a first step rather than an endpoint. As drones take on a greater role in inspection, logistics and safety tasks, demand for clear and proportionate airspace arrangements will only grow. How this revision is implemented, and how the zones are managed in practice, will help determine how quickly further steps become possible.

Frequently asked questions about the new CTR layout

From what date do the rules around civil airports change?
The new layout of the civil Control Zones takes effect on 26 November 2026. From that date, radio contact with air traffic control is no longer required in the designated outer parts of the CTR.

Which airports does the new layout apply to?
The change applies to the civil CTRs around Amsterdam Schiphol, Rotterdam The Hague Airport, Groningen Eelde, Maastricht Aachen Airport and Lelystad Airport. Around military airports, the existing restrictions remain unchanged.

Do I still need to make contact within five kilometres of an airport?
Yes. Within a radius of roughly five kilometres of the airport, clearance from air traffic control remains required. Only in the outer parts of the CTR, at about five kilometres and beyond, does the radiotelephony requirement lapse.

Can I now fly a drone anywhere around an airport?
No. The partial opening does not mean the airspace around airports is fully released for drones. Other geographical zones remain fully in force, for example around helicopter landing sites, vital infrastructure and other locations with restrictions. Always check the current map in advance.

Where can I see which zones apply at my flight location?
The new zones will in time be included in the usual digital sources for drone pilots, including the GoDrone app and Aeret. Check the current map before every flight, including after 26 November.