From 27 November 2025, a geographical zone will be established at the national test centre for unmanned aircraft at Magdeburg-Cochstedt Airport in which UAS operations will be exempt from several requirements in the “open” category. This means that UAS operations in the open category can be carried out
- beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS)
- with unmanned aircraft weighing more than 25 kg maximum take-off mass and/or
- flying above 120 m above ground level,
provided that the requirements of the "Operator Declaration for Usage of Geographical Zone" are met. This relieves the Federal Aviation Authority of the burden of processing individual permit applications in the special category, while maintaining a high level of operational safety. Further details can be found in the general decree and in the declaration issued by the German Aerospace Centre (DLR).
Please note the following information: