A large part of Flanders and Brussels lies within the controlled zone of an airport. A drone flight there requires permission in advance, and that permission has a fixed minimum application lead time. That is often why a client hears that a flight can only happen "in two weeks' time", even though the weather tomorrow is perfect.
This article explains how that works, based on a recent assignment with fifty locations spread across six airspace zones.
What a CTR is
Around the airports of Antwerp, Brussels, Charleroi, Liège and Ostend there is a control zone (CTR). The low-level airspace within it is managed by skeyes, the Belgian air navigation service provider. For drones, that zone is divided into three levels, based on distance from the runway:
| Zone | Location | Apply no later than |
|---|---|---|
| VLL0 | Above and immediately next to the runways | 15 days in advance |
| VLL1 | Above and near the airport | 8 days in advance |
| VLL2 | Further from the airport | 3 hours in advance |
Around Kortrijk-Wevelgem a similar division into two zones applies. Military zones, such as the one around Beauvechain, and port areas, such as North Sea Port, each have their own procedure and lead times.
Applications are made through the skeyes DAA application. The lead time is a minimum: skeyes needs that time to coordinate the application with air traffic controllers and other parties involved. An application that arrives too late is not processed.
What happens after approval
An approved application is not yet clearance to fly. Two more steps follow:
- Confirmation. In VLL0 and VLL1, the pilot must confirm between 1 day and 3 hours before the flight that it is going ahead. In VLL2 this happens automatically.
- Contact with the control tower. In VLL0 and VLL1, the pilot calls air traffic control 30 minutes before take-off. At that point they can still delay or restrict the flight, for example when air traffic is busy.
During the flight, the pilot reports take-off and landing in the application.
Why this determines your planning
The lead time is fixed. The weather is not. Suppose a site is in VLL1 and the preferred flying day is ten days away. Then the application has to go out today. If that day turns out too windy, there is no new date tomorrow: a new application needs another 8 days.
On the fifty-site assignment, fourteen sites were in the Brussels CTR, five in the Antwerp CTR, two in the Ostend CTR, one in the Charleroi CTR, two in the Kortrijk zone, one in a military zone and one on the edge of a port area. The rest were outside any geozone. Three things made the difference:
Applying for reserve dates at the same time. For every site in VLL0 or VLL1 we applied for a reserve date as well as the planned day. When the weather made a flying day impossible, the permission for the new date was already in place.
Grouping sites by zone and by day. Flying sites in the same CTR on the same day limits the number of applications and confirmations. We schedule town and city centres early in the day or at the weekend, when there are fewer people in the street.
Clarifying edge cases in advance. A site 500 metres from a prison, a site just outside a zone boundary, a quayside along a canal. These are not problems if you see them before planning. They do become problems if you discover them on the flying day.
What you can do as a client
- Ask early. The sooner we know the address, the sooner we can see whether an application is needed and how many days it requires.
- Give a window, not a day. "Some time in week 42" is easier to plan than "Tuesday", especially in a CTR.
- Flag hard deadlines straight away. If the images must be ready for a site meeting or an insurance deadline, we plan backwards from that date.
For a location outside any geozone, we usually schedule within 5 to 10 working days. In VLL1, allow at least 8 days; in VLL0, at least 15. That is also stated in your quote, together with the zone your site is in.
Related page: Drone regulations in Belgium
Sources: skeyes, Drones & Aerial Activities, quickstart guide · Droneguide, Belgian geozone map.