Flying a drone in the Dolomites: where the answer is no

The Dolomites are among the most photographed mountains in Europe, and among the most flown. Many of the views people travel for, Lago di Braies, Lago di Carezza and the Tre Cime among them, sit inside protected areas. Several of those have their own drone rules, and in the South Tyrol part of the range the rule for a holiday or promotional flight is simple: it is not allowed.

This is what the rules say and where they come from, taken from the authorities' own pages.

South Tyrol: 18 zones closed to drones

The province of South Tyrol, Alto Adige in Italian and Südtirol in German, covers the northern and western Dolomites. Since 30 January 2023, 18 of its protected areas have been geographical zones where drones may not fly, under a measure from ENAC, Italy's civil aviation authority, updated on 4 April 2023. The province's nature office publishes the list and deals with the exceptions.

The 18 zones include the Dolomites' best known nature parks:

• Fanes-Sennes-Braies, which takes in Lago di Braies;
• Tre Cime;
• Puez-Odle;
• Sciliar-Catinaccio.

They also include three natural monuments, Lago di Carezza, the Città dei Sassi and the Bletterbach gorge, three more nature parks away from the Dolomites, and a set of smaller wetlands and biotopes such as Lago di Caldaro. On ENAC's map each zone carries a code from ENV-002A to ENV-002R.

Three points in the province's own wording stand out.

• It covers every drone under 25kg, with or without a camera. A small drone under 250g is not exempt.
• Private flights are named. Flights for wedding videos or other purely private purposes are not allowed.
• So are promotional ones. Flights for promotional or image films, including PR, influencer projects and social media content, cannot be authorised.

The exceptions are narrow: state aircraft, flights commissioned by or carried out with the protected area's administration where there is a clear public interest in line with conservation, and scientific research or technical surveys. Each needs a form sent to the nature office at least 30 days before the flight, and the research and survey permit carries a €32 stamp duty.

The Ampezzo side: permission first

Cross into the Veneto around Cortina d'Ampezzo and the rules change. The Parco Naturale delle Dolomiti d'Ampezzo, run by the Regole d'Ampezzo, adopted its own drone regulation on 30 April 2020. Flying over the park is prohibited as a rule, mainly to protect birds and their breeding sites.

Written permission is possible for nature documentaries and scientific studies, surveys of the land, and rescue and public safety work. A request needs at least four days' notice, a pilot certificate issued by ENAC and third party liability insurance. Breaking the rules is sanctioned under a Veneto regional law, and repeat offences can end with the drone confiscated.

On land owned by the Regole outside the park the rules are different again. Promotional or advertising flights there need written permission, eight days' notice and a fee.

The Tre Cime sit on the border between the two regions, so which rules apply depends on which side of the peaks you are standing.

National parks

The south of the range includes the Dolomiti Bellunesi National Park. Italy's framework law on protected areas prohibits flights over its parks by aircraft that have not been authorised, and ENAC publishes the park restrictions it has approved in Italy's official aeronautical information. Ask the park before planning a flight there.

Italy's rules still apply everywhere else

Outside those areas the ordinary Italian rules apply. Drones are registered through D-Flight, Italy's drone portal, which also carries the map of zones. Visitors from outside the EU, the UK included, register there once. Pilots already registered in another EU country use that registration. Our Italy page sets out the basics.

Before you pack the drone

• Check every spot you plan to fly against the D-Flight map and against the rules of any park it sits in, before you travel rather than at the viewpoint.
• For client work in a protected area, start with the park office, not the flight. In South Tyrol the minimum notice is 30 days, and promotional filming is not on offer at all.
• Where the answer is no, it is no for every drone. Being small, having no camera, or only hovering for a moment does not change it.

The views are still there to photograph from the ground. For the ones that need a drone, the parks have written down who can fly and why, and a holiday video is not on the list.