Main information:

Use of drones / multicopters

When using camera drones in the outdoor areas of the tourist attractions managed by the Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung (Bavarian Palace Administration), aviation regulations apply, in particular

• the German Air Traffic Regulations (Luft-Verkehrsordnung - LuftVO)

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947 on the rules and procedures for the operation on unmanned aircraft – version of 6 June 2020

Due to regulations issued by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and the local aviation authorities in Northern Bavaria and Southern Bavaria (Luftamt Nordbayern/ Luftamt Südbayern), the use of drones in the outdoor areas of many of the Bavarian Palace Administration’s attractions is subject to severe restrictions:

• Please see the information tool dipul (Digital Platform for Unmanned Aviation) published by the German Federal Ministry of Transport, which lists the prohibited geographical zones that are binding. In general, drone flights are prohibited in or above the following geographical zones (Section 21h of the German Air Traffic Regulations): residential properties; nature reserves, national parks, FFH areas and bird sanctuaries. Local nature conservation authorities can also provide information on the boundaries of protected areas. Furthermore, the boundaries of protected areas can also be accessed online via the ‘BayernAtlas’ geoportal.

• According to current aviation regulations, flying drones over crowds of people and uninvolved individuals is not permitted. Due to the sometimes very high number of visitors at our tourist attractions, the use of drones is largely ruled out.

For general questions regarding the use of drones, please contact the relevant aviation authorities in Southern Bavaria or Northern Bavaria.

The take-off and landing of drones or similar devices in all UAS categories requires prior approval from the Bavarian Palace Administration if this takes place on its land. However, take-off and landing permits are only granted in justified exceptional cases and are usually subject to a fee. In general, no take-off or landing permits will be issued for areas located within a prohibited geographical zone according to dipul. In view of this, the following enquiries, for example, will be rejected as a general rule:

• private drone flights, e.g. wedding photos

• areas located within a prohibited geographical zone according to dipul. This applies in particular to nature conservation areas, air traffic, etc.

• drone flights with no content-related connection to the attraction, e.g. advertising shots

Note:
Regardless of whether approval is required from the Bavarian Palace Administration, the drone pilot is still legally obliged to obtain all public law permits from the relevant state aviation authorities in good time and to observe the applicable protected area regulations and all provisions of aviation law on their own responsibility.

The following generally applies:

• In the event of a violation of aviation regulations (either the EU Drone Regulation or national aviation law) in prohibited areas such as nature reserves (where many of the outstanding properties of the Bavarian Palace Administration are located) or of the legal prohibitions on flying over crowds of people, a fine of up to 50,000 euros may be imposed, depending on the severity of the airspace violation. The Bavarian Palace Administration will inform the relevant authorities if it becomes aware of any violation.

• There is also the threat of substantial fines for recordings that violate data protection laws if drones are equipped with cameras and process personal data unlawfully and/or the statutory information requirements are not complied with.

• If the drone flight or even a drone crash causes damage to a person or a cultural and historic garden monument, statutory strict liability applies, i.e. in the event of an accident, the drone owner and the drone pilot are liable (even if their behaviour was unintentional, such as a drone crashing through no fault of their own due to a gust of wind) for the full amount of the damage caused.