Drone flights in London are amazing. Not surprisingly there are many restrictions around Government buildings, airports and other important monuments. Some companies are put off by this. Drone Solutions are not. It is difficult to fly in London. But it is not impossible. And it can take time. And there may be some restrictions. Drone Solutions are experts are getting permissions to fly. We have a whole team dedicated to get permissions. Here is how we do it…
- We would check whether the area we want to fly in is indeed a restricted area.
- If the area is a restricted area, we contact the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to request permission to fly.
- We provide the CAA with the following information:
- The date and time of the proposed flight.
- The location of the proposed flight.
- The type and weight of the drone.
- The purpose of the flight.
- The CAA review our request and, if approved, would issue us with a Non-Standard Flight (NSF) approval.
- Now we are able to fly my drone in the restricted area, as long as we follow the conditions of the NSF approval.
Simple. Yes. But sometimes it isn’t.
Here are some additional tips for getting permission to fly a drone in London.
- Apply for permission early: The CAA can take up to 21 days to process a request for NSF approval, so it is important to apply early.
- Be clear about your purpose: When you apply for permission, be clear about the purpose of your flight. This will help the CAA to assess your request and make a decision. Vague explanations and timings will not help.
- Follow the rules: Once you have been granted permission to fly, you must follow the conditions of the NSF approval. Don’t push it. Otherwise next time will be much harder.
In short, flying in London is brilliant. But it’s needs a little time and quite a lot of paperwork to organise.