How far in advance should I check?

The stable layers can be reviewed weeks ahead for planning. Notices and weather are worth checking on the day, and notices even shortly before take-off. Procedures with lead times, such as the prior notice for an urban operation, set their own calendar.

Flying outside daylight is not forbidden, but the aircraft must carry a flashing green conspicuity light switched on. Bear in mind that at night your real visual range shrinks to the distance at which you can make out that light.

Is my drone manufacturer's app enough?

It helps as a warning, but its geofences update at their own pace and cover neither every zone nor temporary notices. The fact that your drone lets you take off does not make the flight legal.

What if the site is right on the edge of a zone?

Treat it as if it were inside. Zone boundaries have limited precision and wind pushes the drone around, so flying tight against the edge leaves no margin.

Can I keep the check as evidence?

AXPA stores the planned operation with its conditions and its date, which is what documents an operation. It does not replace an authorisation, but it does record the planning.

Can I fly my drone here and now?

A specific flight is feasible when six checks pass at once: no geographical zone prevents it at that point, the airspace allows it at that height, no temporary notice is in force, your aircraft and category permit those distances and that ceiling, the weather cooperates, and there is daylight or the equipment a night flight requires. One failure is enough for the answer to be no.

Common European Union framework. Your country may add its own conditions.Reviewed on September 17, 2026

In short

The six layers are independent: passing five does not make up for failing the sixth.
Zone and airspace are permanent; notices and weather expire within hours.
The same point can be feasible with one drone and not with another, because the subcategory changes and with it the required distances.
Flying outside daylight is not forbidden, but the aircraft must carry a flashing green conspicuity light switched on.
A check made yesterday is not valid today: temporary notices are what change most.

Why «it is allowed» is not an answer

Almost every tool answers the question about the place: it draws a map and tells you whether that point sits inside a zone. That is necessary and insufficient, because a flight is not a point: it is a point, a time, a height, an aircraft and a category.

The typical case is someone who checks the map on Friday, sees green, and on Saturday runs into a NOTAM for a security operation. The map was not lying: it was answering a different question.

The layers that do not change and the ones that expire

Three are stable: the geographical zone, the structure of the airspace and the conditions of your category. They can be checked in advance and still hold weeks later.

The other three expire. Temporary notices appear and disappear within hours. Weather turns from one day to the next. And daylight depends on the time of year: flight outside daylight, from civil twilight onwards, is not forbidden but requires a flashing green conspicuity light switched on, and at night your real line-of-sight range shrinks to the distance at which you can make out that light.

The aircraft and the category are part of the question

The same coordinate gives different answers depending on the aircraft. A sub-250 gram drone and a two kilo one do not share a subcategory, nor a minimum distance to people, nor the same treatment in a built-up environment.

And the category changes the whole picture: what is a no in open can be a yes in specific with the appropriate declaration or authorisation. If the tool you use does not ask which drone you are flying or which category you are in, it is giving you a generic answer while you have a specific flight.

What AXPA does with this

You mark the point or draw the area, pick the drone, the category and the date, and the engine resolves all six layers at once for that case. The result is not a colour: it is a verdict with the reason up front, the rule that produced it and, when the zone is conditional, the authority to address and the procedure it asks for.

And when we do not have enough data over a point, it says so instead of answering yes. Staying silent is not the same as authorising, and in this field confusing the two is the expensive mistake.

Frequently asked questions

See all questions

How far in advance should I check?: The stable layers can be reviewed weeks ahead for planning. Notices and weather are worth checking on the day, and notices even shortly before take-off. Procedures with lead times, such as the prior notice for an urban operation, set their own calendar.
Can I fly at night?: Flying outside daylight is not forbidden, but the aircraft must carry a flashing green conspicuity light switched on. Bear in mind that at night your real visual range shrinks to the distance at which you can make out that light.
Is my drone manufacturer's app enough?: It helps as a warning, but its geofences update at their own pace and cover neither every zone nor temporary notices. The fact that your drone lets you take off does not make the flight legal.
What if the site is right on the edge of a zone?: Treat it as if it were inside. Zone boundaries have limited precision and wind pushes the drone around, so flying tight against the edge leaves no margin.
Can I keep the check as evidence?: AXPA stores the planned operation with its conditions and its date, which is what documents an operation. It does not replace an authorisation, but it does record the planning.

This guide is general information and planning support, not legal advice and not a flight authorisation. Regulations change and every country adds its own conditions. Before taking off, always check the official sources for your jurisdiction and current aeronautical information. The remote pilot in command is solely responsible for the flight.