Traveling to Europe (Germany, Croatia) with my Mavic Air 2 (Tips wanted)

[FlyingFilmmaker]

I'm going to be going to be traveling to Europe (Germany and Croatia, possibly going through Austria/Hungary or Slovenia) in a few weeks and I'm planning to take my Air 2 and hopefully do some filming there. Looks like there's an online training and test that needs to be taken in the first country in the EU you enter (Germany for me) and then you're good to go. Also need insurance, at least in Germany. Thinking of using Verifly for that.

Anyway, wanted to see if anyone here who's traveled to Europe with their drone has insights/tips/experiences they would be willing to share. Want to know as much as I can before hand. ? How easy/hard is it to fly in the city vs in the country? Anything I might be missing rules wise?

Thanks!

 

[ZorGar]

You need to follow appropriate directives for flying drones all across the EU. Depending on the category of operations and class of drones you planned to perform/fly, you need to pass the appropriate exam.
Getting the certificate after passing the exam in Germany will be sufficient for flying across Europe.
Nevertheless, if you need to fly in the Croatian territory, follow these rules CCAA - Hrvatska agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvo CCAA - Hrvatska agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvo .
Besides the German exam, which implies your registration as an EU drone operator, you need to announce every flight in Croatia through the local UAM application. It is available for android or IOS devices under the name „AMC Portal“ managed by Croatia Control. You need to get approval from CroControl to use the application. The procedure is straightforward: contact them by email address [email protected] and ask for the credentials (Contact).
I wish you happy flying across the EU/Croatia.

 

[FlyingFilmmaker]

You need to follow appropriate directives for flying drones all across the EU. Depending on the category of operations and class of drones you planned to perform/fly, you need to pass the appropriate exam.
Getting the certificate after passing the exam in Germany will be sufficient for flying across Europe.
Nevertheless, if you need to fly in the Croatian territory, follow these rules CCAA - Hrvatska agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvo CCAA - Hrvatska agencija za civilno zrakoplovstvo .
Besides the German exam, which implies your registration as an EU drone operator, you need to announce every flight in Croatia through the local UAM application. It is available for android or IOS devices under the name „AMC Portal“ managed by Croatia Control. You need to get approval from CroControl to use the application. The procedure is straightforward: contact them by email address [email protected] and ask for the credentials (Contact).
I wish you happy flying across the EU/Croatia.

Wow, thank you so much for this information! I had found a lot of it elsewhere, but I hadn't found the page of regulation you linked. Great to get it straight from their website. One thing I couldn't find there, however, was the requirement to announce every flight. I'm not doubting that you are right, but I would very much appreciate it if you could give me a link to a page that deals with that if there is one. It's fine if it's in Croatian because I have someone who natively speaks Croatian. Anyway, thanks again for your help!!! It's so valuable to me to hear directly from a Croatian drone pilot!

 

[ZorGar]

The CCAA defines the obligation (Croatia Civil Aviation Authority) – on the first link above, take a look at the following instruction: "Once I have all of this I need to know where am I allowed and where I am not allowed to fly. Contact Air traffic control to see this and if I might be required to get authorization for my flights: https://amc-en.crocontrol.hr/Contact". It is effortless and user-friendly. Using the application, a pilot acts according to the local authorities' instructions. Briefly, the application allows you the ad-hoc reservation of the airspace structure. After getting the credentials from CroControl, registration, and first use, everything is going smoothly afterward. For example, when you reach the take-off point, activate the application, and on the map, tap and hold on to your standing point visible on the map. The pop-up window will appear and ask whether you want to reserve the airspace. Tap yes, and that's that. Then you have around 5 minutes to prepare the aircraft for the flight. The maximum flying diameter (in the open category) that you can get is 500 meters. The maximum height is 50 meters in most cases (except when you will fly far from the urban area). The reservation lasts 30 minutes (you can immediately repeat it when it expires). It is a handy UTM application, which contains other essential data such as NOTAMs, and automatically warns you if you are preparing for the flight in the restricted area.

 

[flightlogic]

I spent two weeks in July in Croatia. Had good luck with the Mavic almost everywhere. At the national park waterfalls, they were not allowed. So we drove into Bosnia where they have a great waterfall and allow drones. No real problems anywhere. Good to read the rules, as stated above. Then go have fun.

 

[sigi.stiemer]

If you want to enjoy Germany - leave your drone at home. I lived there for 33 years, trust me. However, if you like a challenge with administration, rules, people, and locations - go ahead and report back to us upon your return.

 

[FlyingFilmmaker]

The CCAA defines the obligation (Croatia Civil Aviation Authority) – on the first link above, take a look at the following instruction: "Once I have all of this I need to know where am I allowed and where I am not allowed to fly. Contact Air traffic control to see this and if I might be required to get authorization for my flights: https://amc-en.crocontrol.hr/Contact". It is effortless and user-friendly. Using the application, a pilot acts according to the local authorities' instructions. Briefly, the application allows you the ad-hoc reservation of the airspace structure. After getting the credentials from CroControl, registration, and first use, everything is going smoothly afterward. For example, when you reach the take-off point, activate the application, and on the map, tap and hold on to your standing point visible on the map. The pop-up window will appear and ask whether you want to reserve the airspace. Tap yes, and that's that. Then you have around 5 minutes to prepare the aircraft for the flight. The maximum flying diameter (in the open category) that you can get is 500 meters. The maximum height is 50 meters in most cases (except when you will fly far from the urban area). The reservation lasts 30 minutes (you can immediately repeat it when it expires). It is a handy UTM application, which contains other essential data such as NOTAMs, and automatically warns you if you are preparing for the flight in the restricted area.

Ok, got it. Makes sense. Sounds like what the airmap app does here in the US, except here you only have to do it in controlled airspace. Again, thanks a million for giving me the inside scoop!

 

[FlyingFilmmaker]

I spent two weeks in July in Croatia. Had good luck with the Mavic almost everywhere. At the national park waterfalls, they were not allowed. So we drove into Bosnia where they have a great waterfall and allow drones. No real problems anywhere. Good to read the rules, as stated above. Then go have fun.

Yeah, hear you. I'm used to being sneaky and finding less known, less regulated places to get great shots though, because here in the US, almost any well-known place has banned drones. But thanks for the tip. ?

 

[CADEU]

TDLR: Europe does not care about fold up 450gr drones in a carry on.
Been to 40+ cites in 20+ countries in Europe in the past 2 years by plane with my mavic air (450gr), not registered, insured, or anything. (weekend traveller)
You won't get a single question about it in Europe. Greece says you need to register it, but they don't care at the airport.
Just make sure you respect the customs and take the batteries out of the drone, put it in a fireproof bag. Make sure to carry everything in your carry on.

I'm a hiker so i fly it where there is no people, in the middle of no where, for like 10min max.
Croatia, Austria, and Germany as mentioned in the OP = no issues...
I didn't bring it to Hungary because I was just in Budapest, but i wouldn't worry about it.
Only places i wouldn't bring my drone around me is North Africa and parts of the Middle East.

Drones aren't as popular in Europe as in North America, so it's much more relaxed here. Almost no one owns a drone, and you rarely see anyone flying drones, even in unregulated areas. Dolomites might be the only place i've witnessed officers out with binoculars looking for drones in some paid hikes/areas.

 

[FlyingFilmmaker]

TDLR: Europe does not care about fold up 450gr drones in a carry on.
Been to 40+ cites in 20+ countries in Europe in the past 2 years by plane with my mavic air (450gr), not registered, insured, or anything. (weekend traveller)
You won't get a single question about it in Europe. Greece says you need to register it, but they don't care at the airport.
Just make sure you respect the customs and take the batteries out of the drone, put it in a fireproof bag. Make sure to carry everything in your carry on.

I'm a hiker so i fly it where there is no people, in the middle of no where, for like 10min max.
Croatia, Austria, and Germany as mentioned in the OP = no issues...
I didn't bring it to Hungary because I was just in Budapest, but i wouldn't worry about it.
Only places i wouldn't bring my drone around me is North Africa and parts of the Middle East.

Drones aren't as popular in Europe as in North America, so it's much more relaxed here. Almost no one owns a drone, and you rarely see anyone flying drones, even in unregulated areas. Dolomites might be the only place i've witnessed officers out with binoculars looking for drones in some paid hikes/areas.

I talked to a filmmaker friend who's traveled to 40 something countries, and he said basically the same thing. If you fly in less populated areas and are careful you should be fine.

 

[rwarrior]

Hi FlyingFilmmaker,
I am also planning a trip to Germany in February next year, so I'm really interested in hearing how your trip went, especially in Germany...
As for Croatia, I went there in 2019, and brought my Spark along. I only managed to fly in Korcula, where the owner of a vineyard kindly gave me permission...
Many thanks and looking forward to hearing how your trip went.
Cheers!

 

[FlyingFilmmaker]

Hi FlyingFilmmaker,
I am also planning a trip to Germany in February next year, so I'm really interested in hearing how your trip went, especially in Germany...
As for Croatia, I went there in 2019, and brought my Spark along. I only managed to fly in Korcula, where the owner of a vineyard kindly gave me permission...
Many thanks and looking forward to hearing how your trip went.
Cheers!

I ended up staying in Germany the whole time due to some unexpected circumstances, so I got more experience there and none anywhere else. lol.

I registered and took the online drone class from Luxemburg instead of Germany, because a registration from any EU country is valid for all EU countries, and Germany does not have the test or training materials in English, whereas Luxemburg does. I actually challenged all the tests and only had to repeat one (you can do them as many times as you want until you pass) and then clicked through all the training modules and just scanned over them. If you've taken other drone certification tests (e.g. Part 107 in the US) it's not hard.

Germany wants you to have drone liability insurance, but I couldn't find any providers that were certified to meet the requirement and didn't require a German address.

I always took off and landed in not too populated areas (e.g. edge of a field near a city) and didn't have any issues. Flew less than 10 flights total, so not a huge amount of experience. I just figured that it was best to stay away from people who could cause problems.

There's an app called "droneiq" that gives the airspace restrictions. Make sure to stay out of airport airspace. They also want you to stay a certain distance away from federal roads, railways, waterways, swimming pools, etc, etc.

Some people over there can be a bit edge about photography (I guess that could be anywhere). For example, I was photographing a church from a public street (not with a drone) and as I was leaving this guy comes running after me and somewhat angrily starts asking me why I was photographing his house... I told him I wasn't photographing his house but he wouldn't believe me until I showed him the photos on my camera. I guess he didn't know there was an interesting church near by... So don't hover over someone's house, there may be problems.

Anyway, use common sense and be careful, and you should be fine.

 

[rwarrior]

I ended up staying in Germany the whole time due to some unexpected circumstances, so I got more experience there and none anywhere else. lol.

I registered and took the online drone class from Luxemburg instead of Germany, because a registration from any EU country is valid for all EU countries, and Germany does not have the test or training materials in English, whereas Luxemburg does. I actually challenged all the tests and only had to repeat one (you can do them as many times as you want until you pass) and then clicked through all the training modules and just scanned over them. If you've taken other drone certification tests (e.g. Part 107 in the US) it's not hard.

Germany wants you to have drone liability insurance, but I couldn't find any providers that were certified to meet the requirement and didn't require a German address.

I always took off and landed in not too populated areas (e.g. edge of a field near a city) and didn't have any issues. Flew less than 10 flights total, so not a huge amount of experience. I just figured that it was best to stay away from people who could cause problems.

There's an app called "droneiq" that gives the airspace restrictions. Make sure to stay out of airport airspace. They also want you to stay a certain distance away from federal roads, railways, waterways, swimming pools, etc, etc.

Some people over there can be a bit edge about photography (I guess that could be anywhere). For example, I was photographing a church from a public street (not with a drone) and as I was leaving this guy comes running after me and somewhat angrily starts asking me why I was photographing his house... I told him I wasn't photographing his house but he wouldn't believe me until I showed him the photos on my camera. I guess he didn't know there was an interesting church near by... So don't hover over someone's house, there may be problems.

Anyway, use common sense and be careful, and you should be fine.

Hi there,
Thanks so much for the very useful information, much appreciated.
You're absolutely right, that it's best to fly in less populated areas, and in open areas, rather than in the city...
I've also downloaded the Droniq app, and will check it out.
Thanks again for your help, and I look forward to seeing your shots in Germany!
Cheers