Flying over a campsite or a golf course: the 2026 rules

Drone regulation in Europe is abundantly explained. The case a campsite, a golf club or a wine estate actually cares about almost never is: can you fly over an open site with customers on it?

The short answer fits in one sentence, and it often surprises people: in the category that covers virtually every virtual-tour job, no - and the fix is not a permission, it is a time slot.

What changed on 1 January 2026

The national standard scenarios have gone. What remains are the two European standard scenarios, STS-01 and STS-02, and they require C5 or C6 class aircraft that few fleets owned until now.

The operator files an operational declaration with the national aviation authority and the remote pilot holds the corresponding certificate of competency. Beyond those two scenarios you need an operational authorisation, granted after a SORA risk assessment.

Unlike the national scenarios they replaced, STS-01 and STS-02 are recognised across every EASA member state, which matters if you work across borders.

The real obstacle: your customers

The Open category covers the overwhelming majority of virtual-tour jobs. It is simple, quick, and it carries one prohibition that cannot be worked around: flying over an assembly of people is forbidden there, for every class of drone.

An assembly is not defined by a headcount. People form an assembly when they are packed densely enough that their ability to move away from the aircraft is limited. A campsite pool in mid-August, the first tee on competition day, a restaurant terrace in service: all of those qualify.

Exemptions available in the Open category to overfly an assembly

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It is not a matter of asking for permission: the category itself excludes it. To fly above uninvolved people you move into the Specific category, with a controlled ground area.

Outside an assembly, the rules still bite. In subcategory A1, a C0 aircraft under 250 g may fly over uninvolved people; a C1 aircraft under 900 g may not - the operator has to have a reasonable expectation that no uninvolved person will be overflown, and to cut the overflight short if it happens anyway. Subcategory A2, the one that lets you get close to people, requires a C2 aircraft and a minimum horizontal distance of 30 metres from uninvolved persons, reduced to 5 metres in low-speed mode. On a campsite in July, keeping 30 metres from everybody is an achievement.

Subcategory A3 asks the opposite: at least 150 metres from residential, commercial, industrial and recreational areas. A campsite is a recreational area.

The fix everybody ends up adopting

It appears on no form, and it is still the only one that works: you fly when nobody is there.

1. 01

   Choose the window

   Early morning before opening, a weekly closing day, or out of season. On a campsite, the first fortnight of June and the last of September carry almost every job.

2. 02

   Clear the area being overflown, not the whole site

   This is not about closing the venue. It is about keeping the area actually overflown clear during the few minutes of each capture, and moving that area with the flight.

3. 03

   Tell the people who are there

   Staff first, customers second if any are on site. A word at reception and light signage are enough, and they avoid the unpleasant conversation mid-flight.

4. 04

   Check the airspace

   Proximity to an aerodrome, a military zone, a national park, a built-up area: the UAS geographical zones published by your authority say so. Some zones need a protocol or several weeks of lead time.

5. 05

   Get the venue's written consent

   It does not replace the rules of the air, but it is indispensable on the other side: you do not overfly private property at low height without the consent of whoever runs it.

The best argument for this method is not regulatory anyway, it is photographic. A virtual tour showing empty paths and empty sunloungers sells better than a crowded one: the visitor projects themselves into it instead of counting the other holidaymakers. That is exactly what our guide Create a drone virtual tour recommends.

Two permissions people confuse constantly

This is the most frequent mistake, on both sides.

The venue’s consent does not authorise you to fly. A campsite manager can sign whatever they like: they do not issue aeronautical authorisations. The rules of the air apply above their property as everywhere else.

And the reverse is just as true. Being in order with your aviation authority gives you no right to overfly private property at low height without the consent of whoever runs it. You need both, every time.

Sensitive zones

Some sites stack up constraints, and it is better to know before fixing a date.

Nature parks and reserves. Overflight is frequently prohibited or subject to authorisation, independently of aeronautical rules. A wine estate inside a Natura 2000 area or a mountain resort inside a national park often falls under that regime.

Proximity to an aerodrome. It does not make the flight impossible, but it imposes a protocol and sometimes prior contact with the aerodrome operator. Lead times run in weeks.

Built-up areas. A campsite on the edge of town or a municipal golf course can fall inside a populated environment, which changes the applicable subcategory and, since 2026, points towards STS-01 and its controlled ground area.

Frequently asked

Do we have to close the campsite for the shoot? No. You have to keep the area actually being overflown clear during each capture, which is solved by flying early in the morning or out of season. Closing the venue has never been necessary.

Can a customer appear in an image? Better avoided, and not only for image rights: a virtual tour gets watched for years, and the people photographed date the image more surely than any caption.

Does the drone pilot have to be registered? Yes. Every operator has to be registered with a national aviation authority and hold a UAS operator registration number, displayed on the aircraft, plus third-party liability insurance for commercial work. It is the first thing to check.

What if the site is in a prohibited zone? There are still options, but they need preparing: a specific authorisation, a protocol with whoever manages the zone, or moving the flight to a permitted window. That gets handled at the recce, not the night before.

Do the rules change often? Yes, and 2026 is the proof: the national scenarios disappearing on 1 January made whole fleets obsolete. One more reason to work with a drone pilot who does this for a living.

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Looking for a drone pilot for your venue? The industries page brings together the twelve trades we equip, each with its own enquiry form. Are you a drone pilot? The guide to selling virtual tours sets out the model.