Once you have all of the above requirements in place, Each Individual Flight requires its Own Permissions:
Landowner – you must have the permission of the landowner in order to take – off and land on their property.
Local Authority – individual authorities often have specific requirements in order to carry out a flight within their jurisdiction. There may also be local bylaws which regulate your flight in addition to the Drone Code so always check with the local authority to ensure you are abiding by their requirements.
Police – always inform the local police in advance of the location, date and time of your flight. If any additional information is needed they will let you know and issue you with a Log Number for your records.
CAA – the Civil Aviation Authority oversee and regulate UK civil aviation. If your flight can be carried out within the requirements of the Open category or within the remit of your Operational Authorisation there is no need to contact them for general flying. If different permissions are required (ie. You need to reduce the distance to buildings etc) then you may need to apply to them for an Operational Safety Case (OSC) which will then require that you provide evidence that you will be able to carry out the flight without compromising safety.
Rail Network – if your flight brings your drone in close proximity to the railway you will need to inform Network Rail of your intended flight path. Flights within 50m of the railway are not permitted and NR has a list of companies who are permitted to carry out this work, with whom they will put you in touch if required.
Local ATC – you must not fly your drone in the vicinity of an airport. If your flight plan takes you within the airspace controlled by the airport you should contact the Air Traffic Control (ATC) and request permission to fly. Providing that your flight is deemed safe and any mitigation is put in place then it may still be possible to carry out your flight.
Nuclear Facilities – Nuclear Facilities will be surrounded by a Flight Restriction Zone (FRZ) and it is illegal to fly in this space without permission. You will be required to gain permission from an authorised person at the Facility and pass this to the CAA who will grant you temporary permission to carry out the flight.
Prisons, Military Bases, Sport Stadiums etc.– many sites are surrounded by restriction zones which restrict flights in that airspace. It is always recommended to check the airspace around the site you are planning to fly as soon as possible in your planning process in order to ensure you have the time to gain all the permissions which may be required.
Controlled airspace – Class G Airspace is classified as “uncontrolled”, all other airspace is considered “Controlled” ie. Under the control of the direction of Air Traffic Control.
According to the CAA “any authority or regulatory body should be able to identify the specific laws, regulations or bye-laws that empower it to regulate the use of UAS, or more usually, the land from which they are operated, much as the CAA has set out the regulations that it applies”
Here are a variety of links to tools to use in order to help determine the requirements of your flight, click on the logos below for more information.