Where You Cannot Fly a Drone in Poland: Zones, DroneTower, Eastern Border

The General Rule: Open Category and Zones

In the open category you fly without ULC permission, but within strict limits: within visual line of sight (VLOS), up to 120 m from the closest point of the ground, away from assemblies of people and without dropping anything. On top of these general rules come geographical zones. EU Regulation 2019/947 defines them as a portion of airspace that facilitates, restricts or excludes drone operations to address risks to safety, privacy, data protection or the environment.

According to ULC, within a zone the state can ban some or all flights, set special conditions, require prior authorisation, admit only certain drone classes, or admit only drones with Remote ID or geo-awareness. Geographical zones are gradually replacing the old division into CTR, TMA and ATZ.

Zone Types in Poland

This description comes from a guide for residents published by the city of Gliwice, based on information from ULC and PANSA. A zone can also be temporary, for instance over a rescue operation; the zone manager then sets the rules. ULC gives the example of Rzeszów: a flight above 50 m in the city centre is possible, but while the zone is active it requires the zone manager's consent.

Places Where You Usually Cannot Fly

• near airports and airstrips without permission,
• over assemblies of people: concerts, matches, mass events,
• in national parks and nature reserves,
• over government buildings and critical infrastructure,
• over military sites and border areas,
• around rescue and police operations.

Flying and filming over sites of particular importance to state security and defence are governed by Article 616a of the Homeland Defence Act (ustawa o obronie Ojczyzny), a Council of Ministers regulation of 21 April 2022 (Journal of Laws 2022, item 880) and a Ministry of Defence regulation of 8 August 2025 on the "no photography" sign (Journal of Laws 2025, item 1097). The consequences can be serious: in 2025 a foreign national who flew a drone over the Belweder palace in Warsaw faced criminal proceedings under Article 212 of the Aviation Law, followed by a deportation decision.

Cities and People: It Depends on the Drone's Class

Outside the zones, how close to people you may fly depends on the subcategory. A C0 drone may fly over individual people in subcategory A1; with a C1 drone such overflights should be limited. A C2 drone in subcategory A2 must keep 30 m from uninvolved people, or 5 m in low-speed mode. In subcategory A3 you must stay at least 150 m from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas. Flying over assemblies of people is not allowed in any subcategory.

DroneTower: Checking the Zone and Filing a Check-in

DroneTower is a free PANSA app for Android and iOS. It shows airspace restrictions, geographical zones and flight conditions, and in controlled zones lets you contact the tower (TWR) or flight information service (FIS). Before every flight you file a check-in in the app: you enter the location, height, flight time and drone mass, and after landing you close the check-in. You set up an account in the PANSA UTM system, and your KSID profile can be linked to DroneTower.

A few practical points:

• In some zones, such as DRA-R around controlled airports, you must first submit a flight plan in the KSID Mission Creator and have it approved by PANSA. A mission plan does not replace the check-in.
• In CTR zones you may need to phone the tower. The number is in the app.
• In active military zones a flight may require consent from the zone manager, such as a military tower (MIL TWR).
• Residents can look up reported flights in PANSA's CoTuLata app.

According to android.com.pl, an amendment to the Aviation Law is meant to introduce a statutory duty to report flights with drones over 250 g or with a camera. PANSA and local guides already treat the check-in as a mandatory step before every flight.

The Eastern Border: Zone EP R134

Since 10 September 2025, after Russian drones entered Polish airspace, flight restriction zones have applied along the entire border with Belarus and Ukraine. First came EP R129, then EP R131, and now EP R134. The rules according to PANSA, as reported by Dlapilota.pl (as of 16 October 2026):

The zone boundary is a polygon following the state border, described in the NOTAM. Before flying in the eastern provinces, check in DroneTower whether your take-off point lies inside the zone. The zone expires on 9 December 2026, but the previous zones were each replaced by a new one. After that date, check whether a follow-up zone applies.

Exceptions cover, among others, state aviation, rescue flights, critical infrastructure protection and flights in special TRA areas agreed with the air operations centre.

Flying at Night

Outside zones with a ban, the open category does not prohibit flying after dark. When flying at night the drone must have its flashing green light switched on. The VLOS rule still applies: the pilot must see the drone at all times. In zone EP R134 night flights are not allowed at all.

Penalties

The Gliwice guide lists the penalties for breaching drone rules:

• an administrative fine of up to PLN 10,000 (≈ EUR 2,290 at NBP rate 4.3641 of 21 October 2026) for flying without registration, without the required qualifications or in breach of geographical zone conditions,
• a fine of up to PLN 4,000 (≈ EUR 915) for flying without mandatory liability insurance,
• up to 5 years in prison for breaching a geographical zone established for reasons of state security,
• confiscation of the drone and equipment.

We cover the formalities before your first flight in “Drone Registration and the A1/A3 Exam in Poland (2026)” and “Mandatory Drone Liability Insurance in Poland Since 13 November 2025”, and the rules for subcategories A1, A2 and A3 in “Drone Classes C0–C6 and Subcategories A1, A2, A3 Explained for Buyers”. You will find the catalogue drones in the drones overview. This guide summarises the rules but is not legal advice and does not replace current PANSA notices.