Slovakia: The commercial use of unmanned aircraft in Slovakia

In Slovakia, the European regulation has been in force since 2021 but has not been implemented to date. The current legal requirements in Slovakia in this area are therefore not identical to current EU legislation. Some parts of the EU regulation cannot be met in Slovakia. The Transport Authority (Dopravný úrad) is the competent authority for the granting of permits in Slovakia. Drones that weigh more than 250 g or are equipped with a sensor that can record personal data (e.g., a camera) must be registered.

Currently, the Transportation Authority requires registration only for commercial drone users. You also need a commercial license for air work. Slovakia has not implemented a registration system to date, this will most likely happen in 2022/2023. Since the integration of the European regulations into Slovak law has not yet taken place, some questions remain open for Slovak citizens, such as the (im)possibility of using a drone for commercial purposes in other EU countries.

The introduction of the full U-Space in Slovakia is planned, but there is no specific information in terms of the timeline for implementation. All flights can currently be operated in uncontrolled airspace at a height of no more than 120 m above the ground. The operation of drones is carried out according to the so-called Subcategories A1, A2, and A3:

• A1: Drones with a maximum departure weight of less than 0.5 kg. These offer the opportunity of flying in the urban area (without a minimum distance from buildings), but not over a crowd.
• A2: Drones with a take-off weight between 0.5 – 2.00 kg. A flight ban applies at a distance of less than 30 m from persons;
• A3: Drones with a maximum take-off weight of up to 25 kg and an airspeed of up to 19 m/s. Flights must be operated at such a distance that uninvolved persons are not endangered by the flight but are at least 150 m from inhabited areas.

Autor: Monika Wetzlerová-Deisler