(THE GIST OF PIB) Drone Airspace Maps

[October-2021]

The Central Government has released India’s airspace map for drone operations on 24 September 2021. The map is available on DGCA’s digital sky platform.

Top features of the Drone Airspace Maps:

The drone airspace map is an interactive mapof India that demarcates the yellow and red zones across the country.
Green zone is the airspace upto 400 feet that has not been designated as a red or yellow zone; and upto 200 feet above the area located between 8-12 km from the perimeter of an operational airport.
In green zones, no permission whatsoever is required for operating drones with an all-up weight upto500 kg.
Yellow zone is the airspace above 400 feet in a designated green zone; above 200 feet in the area located between 8-12 km from the perimeter of an operational airport and above ground in the area located between 5-8 km from the perimeter of an operational airport.
Drone operations in yellow zone require permission from the concerned air traffic control authority – AAI, IAF, Navy, HAL etc. as the case may be.
Yellow zone has been reduced from 45 km earlier to 12 km from the airport perimeter.
Red zone is the ‘no-drone zone’ within which drones can be operated only after a permission from the Central Government.
The airspace map may be modified by authorised entities from time to time.
Anyone planning to operate a drone should mandatorily check the latest airspace map for any changes in zone boundaries.
The drone airspace map is freely available on the digital sky platform to all without any login