Drone Restricted Airspace around Prisons & Young Offender Institutions in England and Wales
Guidance on submitting applications to fly drones within Restricted Airspace at Prisons and Young Offender Institutions, effective from 25 January 2024.
Applies to England and Wales
New drone-only Restricted Airspace for Prisons and Young Offender Institutions in England and Wales come into effect on 25 January 2024. Details are within Statutory Instrument SI 2023/1101 and UK AIP - ENR 5.1 on the NATS website (NATS UK-Home (ead-it.com).
Under new legislation (SI 2023/1101) restricting the flying of drones in the vicinity of closed prisons and young offender institutions in England and Wales; anyone wishing to fly a drone within the restricted airspace will now require an exemption.
Exemption requests should be made by completing and submitting a notification form on the Civil Aviation Website notification form, selecting ‘Airspace Restrictions (including exemption requests)’ from the activity category.
Exemptions for approved requests will be issued by His Majesty’s Prison and Probation Service (HMPPS) and will detail the conditions under which flying can take place.
A minimum of 28 days’ notice should be given when making requests. HMPPS may be unable to process requests made with less than the stated minimum notice.
After submitting the notification form, an automated email confirmation will be received. For any queries HMPPS can be contacted at drone.RFZapplication@justice.gov.uk.