Special Flights and Activities

Before, we used to see them in action movies only, and today everyone uses drones: from amateurs to professionals. Although they are fun, useful and versatile, unmanned aircraft systems or the so-called drones, are not harmless. That is why their operations should be reported through established procedures.

Concise instructions for remote operators and pilots are available on the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency’s website.

The requirements for aerial photography flights are defined by the Regulation on Aerial Photography. Please contact the State Geodetic Administration for further instructions.

The automated procedure for the establishment of an ad hoc structure (5 minutes before activity start) is applied if the flights are conducted:

• in uncontrolled airspace up to 120 m above ground level
• in controlled airspace outside the radius of 5 km from the aerodrome reference point, up to 50 m above ground level.

The automated procedure for the establishment of an ad hoc structure for obtaining a real-time approval on the day of activity is available via the AMC Portal Mobile application in three simple steps:

• Sign up with the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency’s unmanned aircraft system operators register.
• Download the app from Google Play or App Store to your smartphone.
• Sign up or log in to the app with your username and password.

The regular procedure for the establishment of an ad hoc structure (7 working days before activity start) is applied if the flights are conducted:

• in uncontrolled airspace over 120 m above ground level
• in controlled airspace within the radius of 5 km from the aerodrome reference point and/or
• in controlled airspace over 50 m above ground level.

For the regular procedure, fill in the form and submit it via the AMC Portal 7 working days before the planned activity.

Unmanned free balloons are used for various purposes, primarily in meteorology and advertising. If their mass with the payload exceeds 0.5 kg, an approval for the establishment of an ad hoc structure is required for releasing them.

Requirements for releasing unmanned free balloons:

• An unmanned free balloon must not be released without the prior approval of the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency.
• It must not be operated across the territory of another state without the approval of the state concerned. (Other than a light balloon used exclusively for meteorological purposes and operated in a manner prescribed by the competent authority.)
• The approval has to be obtained prior to releasing the balloon if it can be reasonably expected that, when planning the operation, the balloon might drift into the airspace over the territory of another state.
• An unmanned free balloon is operated in accordance with the conditions specified by the state of registry and state(s) expected to be overflown.
• An unmanned free balloon must not be operated in such a manner that the impact of the balloon, or any part thereof, including its payload, with the surface of the earth could pose a hazard to persons or property not associated with the operation.
• A heavy unmanned free balloon must not be operated over the high seas without prior coordination with the relevant ANSP.
• The approval for the establishment of an ad hoc structure will contain the telephone number of the competent ATC unit with which activity has to be coordinated. Prior to releasing the unmanned free balloon, a tactical approval also has to be obtained by phone from the competent ATC unit.

Submit your request via the AMC Portal or send us the filled-in form by e-mail no later than 7 working days before the planned day of activity start.

Stepping out of an aircraft door into the gravity and wind is an attractive but also a very bold activity. Although the parachute is there to make sure that we reach the ground safely, the safety factor should be understood far broader than the landing itself.

CIV AA’s approval for the establishment of an ad hoc structure is required for parachute jumps in controlled airspace. Submit your request via the AMC Portal or send us the filled-in form by e-mail no later than 7 working days before the planned day of activity start.

If a pre-defined flexible structure (AIP RH ENR 5.1) is used for parachute jumping at an aerodrome, the head of activities has to submit a request for the reservation of an airspace structure to CIV AA via the AMC Portal no later than 11:00 AM on the first working day of activity.

See AIP RH ENR 1.9.2 for details on using the pre-defined flexible structures in lower airspace.

Before activity start, a tactical approval has to be obtained by phone from the competent ATC unit.

Other requirements are defined by the Ordinance on Parachuting.

Parachute Jumps at Controlled Aerodromes

For parachute jumping at controlled aerodromes, the filled-in request form has to be submitted 15 working days before the planned day of conducting parachute jumps.

The aerodrome operator’s consent has to be submitted with the form, as well as, if applicable, the consent of the local Croatian Air Force base.

Requirements for parachute jumping at controlled aerodromes:

• Activities can be conducted only by day in visual meteorological conditions.
• There has to be a marked jump site at the aerodrome which is published on the aerodrome chart in the manner customary in air traffic.
• The procedure for conducting parachute jumps at that airport has to be published in the manner customary in air traffic.
• No training parachute jumps.
• The aerodrome operator and, if applicable, the local air force base must give their consent for conducting the jumps.
• No parachute jumps if the Alpha Scramble procedure could be initiated at the aerodrome, involving the quick mobilization of military aircraft:

During any active interception (Alpha or Tango Scramble) in the airspace of the Republic of Croatia, it is not possible to conduct parachute jumps at controlled aerodromes. Alpha Scramble is a flight of a military interceptor aircraft for the purpose of sovereignty protection of the airspace of the Republic of Croatia (identification of an unknown object in the airspace, active air defense or assistance to aircraft in an emergency and aircraft in danger). Tango Scramble is a flight of a military interceptor aircraft for the purpose of training the Alpha Scramble flight.

A birthday party at an aerodrome sounds great. What you should know is that releasing children’s balloons is prohibited during the aerodrome working hours within a 5-kilometer radius.

Releasing sky lanterns is a nice and attractive activity done at various ceremonies and commemorations. The romantic scene of the night sky filled with “fireflies” must not be taken lightly. Since sky lanterns are made out of paper and include the open flame, they pose a fire hazard. That is why, in accordance with the Fire Protection Act, the approval of the competent authority of local and regional government is required as well.

Just like children’s balloons, releasing sky lanterns is prohibited during the aerodrome working hours within a 5-kilometer radius.

Submit your request via the AMC Portal or send us the filled-in form by e-mail no later than 7 working days before the planned day of activity start.

An airshow is any flying activity performed for exhibition or entertainment purposes at an advertised event open to the public. Those attractive shows have to be approved and announced.

To organize an airshow, the approval of the Croatian Civil Aviation Agency is required. If a civil airshow includes the exhibition of military aircraft, the approval is granted by the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Croatia.

The requirements for organizing and holding airshows are defined by the Ordinance on Airshows.

In addition to the above approvals, to organize an airshow in controlled airspace, the approval of the Airspace Management Cell is required as well. If the airshow is held in controlled airspace, a tactical approval of the competent ATC unit has to be obtained by phone before activity start.

Submit your request via the AMC Portal or send us the filled-in form by e-mail no later than 7 working days before the planned day of activity start.

Additional remarks:

• Along with the filled-in form, send us the airshow program as well.
• In the case of completely aborting the planned activity which has already been approved in writing, the organizer has to send an activity cancellation notice to the Civil Approved Agency or the NOTAM Office.

The term aerial works primarily implies the VFR flights of public interest. They include calibration flights, aerial photography flights, the oral vaccination of foxes i.e. the vaccination distribution by aerial work, as well as test flights and examination flights for new aircraft and pilots.

They have to be announced in advance to the competent ATC unit to avoid collisions with other airspace users.

Requirements for granting an approval for conducting VFR flights of public interest are published in the Aeronautical Information Circular, Series A.

For activity coordination purposes, the aircraft operator has to send a detailed aerial work plan to the Civil Approved Agency by e-mail () no later than 7 working days before the start of aerial works. The aerial work plan has to contain:

• a graphical representation of the area concerned (based on the VFR chart of the Republic of Croatia or in the .kmz format)
• planned altitude (ft AMSL) or height (m AGL) of aerial works
• planned date(s) and the daily period of aerial works (local time LT or UTC) and
• the contact of the person responsible for the coordination with the competent ATC unit (first name, last name, cell phone number, e-mail).

Upon the completion of the coordination procedure, the aircraft operator will be informed in time of any necessary details and parameters for performing aerial works without delay.

Ban on Aerial Works

Should the aircraft operator not abide by the parameters agreed on with the competent ATC unit, aerial works could be partially or completely suspended for air traffic safety and efficiency purposes.

The flight planning procedure is published in the AIP Croatia ENR 1.10.