Drone missions in French controlled airspace: CTR, RTBA, NOTAM, ZICAD

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October 2026latest revision of this guide

• Primary sources: Légifrance, EUR-Lex, Géoportail, DGAC, EASA.
• Every figure linked to its source, dated in the last chapter.
• Dated updates: you always read the latest version.

Who it is for

• Professional drone operators and remote pilots, French or foreign, preparing missions near French aerodromes, industrial, military or prison sites, or along long rural routes
• Clients commissioning drone work in France (construction, energy, industry, local authorities, engineering firms) who need to know whether a mission is feasible, how long it will take and what to require from the provider
• Surveyors, photogrammetry teams and film crews whose captures may fall inside a French no-capture zone (ZICAD)
• Safety and QHSE managers who keep the mission preparation file for their company

In pictures

Illustrative photos, published by their authors under free licences.

Contents of the complete guide

1. Reading the airspace: classes, CTR, TMA, LTA and P, R, D areas (free extract below)
2. The UAS restrictions map and the other Géoportail layers
3. Aerodromes and CTRs: agreement, protocol, notification
4. Military activity and temporary areas: RTBA, AZBA, NOTAM, ZRT
5. Sensitive sites: nuclear, military, prisons, natural areas
6. ZICAD: the right to capture images
7. The decision tree: which procedure, which lead time
8. Six templates to copy
9. Sources and dates consulted

Included: 18 checklist items and 11 decision or reference tables.

Introduction

A drone mission in France rarely fails because the flight is technically hard. It fails because an airspace constraint is found too late: the site sits inside an airport CTR and nobody asked the tower, a segment of the military low-flying network goes live on survey day, a temporary restricted area is published the evening before, or the photogrammetry flight plan covers a zone where capturing aerial data is prohibited. The flight is then cancelled on site, or flown illegally.

This guide is written to avoid both outcomes. It is for the operator preparing the mission and for the client commissioning it, including foreign teams who know EASA rules but not the French layer on top of them. It explains how to read the airspace above a site, which map layers to check and in what order, what each type of zone requires (agreement, protocol, notification, exemption), who the authority is and how much time to allow. It ends with a "which procedure, which lead time" decision tree and six ready-to-copy templates: protocol request, agreement request for a restricted area, email to an aerodrome manager, pre-flight zone check sheet, check log and ZICAD capture application.

The guide is up to date as of 29 October 2026. Every rule is tied to its text, and the texts cited were re-read on that date on Légifrance, in particular the order of 3 December 2020 as amended by the order of 23 December 2025. French texts are only authoritative in French; names of procedures are given in French where you will need them. Airspace data changes on 28-day publication cycles: maps, NOTAMs and the ZICAD list must be rechecked for every mission.

Reading the airspace: classes, CTR, TMA, LTA and P, R, D areas

Two systems on top of each other

Manned aviation divides the sky into volumes and classes. The classification comes from Annex 11 to the Chicago Convention and is taken up in Europe by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 923/2012, known as SERA. It describes the services air traffic control provides to aeroplanes and helicopters: who needs a clearance, who must be on the radio, who is separated from whom.

A drone answers first to another system: the UAS geographical zones created by Article 15 of Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947. Each State defines them for safety, security, privacy or environmental reasons. In France, they are translated into maximum heights on the restrictions map published on Géoportail.

The two systems meet in a French national text: the order of 3 December 2020 on the use of airspace by unmanned aircraft ("arrêté relatif à l'utilisation de l'espace aérien par les aéronefs sans équipage à bord"). It says what a drone must do in a prohibited, restricted or danger area, near an aerodrome and in controlled airspace. Reading an aeronautical chart therefore tells you why the drone map shows a given height, and which procedure to trigger.

Classes A to G on one page

A class is not a prohibition. It describes a level of service. A drone flying 40 m above a warehouse has no clearance to request because of the class, and no radio to keep. What concerns it are the volumes that come down to the ground, the special-status areas, and the drone-specific rules of the order of 3 December 2020: in the open category, its Article 5 for instance requires the agreement of air traffic control to fly in controlled airspace at 50 m or more above the surface (chapter 3).

Volumes: which one touches the ground

• FIR (flight information region): a large division of the territory for information and alerting services. No flight constraint in itself.
• CTR (control zone): controlled volume protecting arrivals and departures at an aerodrome. It is the only controlled airspace that starts at the surface. It is the one that matters for a drone.
• TMA (terminal control area): stepped volumes around and above one or more CTRs. Their floor is not at ground level.
• LTA and UTA: lower and upper airspace, thousands of metres up. Out of a drone's reach.
• SIV (French flight information sector): a service to aircraft, not a restriction.

The reflex: on an aeronautical chart, look first for the CTR, then for P, R and D areas. A TMA floor at 1,500 ft changes nothing for a flight at 60 m.

Special-status areas: P, R, D

P (prohibited), R (restricted) and D (danger) areas are not classes. They are overlaid volumes, published in the AIP France (section ENR 5.1) with their limits, hours and manager. Article 4 of the order of 3 December 2020 sets the rule for a drone:

• P area: no flight, unless the drone meets the entry conditions published for that area.
• R or D area: no flight, unless the aeronautical information explicitly allows it, or with the agreement of the area manager where the aeronautical information designates one.
• Establishments with distinctive markings: the remote pilot complies with the published overflight prohibitions and restrictions, in particular for establishments bearing low-level no-overflight markings, unless their manager has authorised it.

A P area can sit in class G, the "freest" airspace for an aeroplane, and still be prohibited. Conversely, a site in class D at the edge of a CTR can be flyable at a reduced height. Class and status are read separately.

What to keep in mind before opening the map

1. The class letter does not tell you whether you can fly.
2. The volumes that matter are those that touch the ground: the CTR, low-floor P, R and D areas, temporary areas.
3. The UAS restrictions map already translates them into a height: it is the first document to open, not the last.
4. Areas often have hours. An R area active Monday to Friday may be free on Saturday, and the reverse exists.

Why the rules are strict: what research measures

Manned aviation relies on "see and avoid". Against a small drone, it works poorly. A study by Ryan J. Wallace, Samuel M. Vance, Jon M. Loffi and co-authors, published in 2019 in the International Journal of Aviation, Aeronautics, and Aerospace (DOI 10.15394/ijaaa.2019.1421), measured pilots' ability to spot a small drone during final approach: it was seen in only 30% of approaches, and in only 13.6% when it was hovering. Successful sightings were almost all within a narrow cone around the line of sight. Around a runway, what protects is the capped height and the tower's agreement, not the aeroplane pilot's vigilance.

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Frequently asked questions

What does “Drone missions in French controlled airspace: CTR, RTBA, temporary areas, NOTAM, ZICAD and sensitive sites” contain and how much is it?

For €39 VAT included (€32.50 excl. VAT), you get drone missions in French controlled airspace: CTR, RTBA, temporary areas, NOTAM, ZICAD and sensitive sites: 8 chapters online, about 28 printable A4 pages and 6 ready-to-copy templates, to prepare a professional drone mission in France where the airspace is not free: read an aeronautical chart and the Géoportail layers, check the CTR and aerodrome surroundings, low-flying military activity, NOTAMs and temporary areas, nuclear, military and prison sites and protected natural areas, then the right to capture images in a ZICAD, and choose the procedure, the authority and the lead time that apply.

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Free articles on the topic

• RTBA (military very-low-level network): what a professional drone operator must check before a mission
• Airspace classes A to G, CTR, TMA, LTA: reading an aeronautical chart before a drone mission
• ZICAD in France: List, Map and Exemptions for Drone Data Capture Zones
• Drone Mission Inside an Airport CTR: Who to Contact, What Delay, What Protocol
• NOTAM and temporary restricted airspace: the checks before a professional drone mission
• Drones and Prisons: No-Fly Ban, Penalties and Regulation of a Correctional Facility

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