Regulation on protected areas overflight in Spain: Current outlook and next steps

Aviation can have impacts on wildlife that should be taken into account, especially in natural areas. Limitations on aircraft overflight in natural areas can reduce impacts and promote conservation of biodiversity. In Spain, a coordinated effort has been made by the different administrations to improve aviation regulation in protected areas. We analyse the trend in operational regulations that have been legally established in protected areas in Spain and outline a newly established framework for proposing new regulations for aviation in protected areas. There was an increase in the area under regulation from the 1980s, plateauing from the 2010s. Similarly, the growth in the number of sites with new regulations has slowed from the 1990s because regulation in protected areas has been progressively addressed and the need for regulations in new sites has declined. However, the number of sites subject to authorisation for flights has increased from the 2000s. The average minimum height established for overflight of protected areas has increased in the last two decades. Based on available evidence, we propose general criteria on heights and distances in protected areas that allow coexistence between aviation and wildlife. After consultation with the relevant groups, we got the different public administrations involved to commit to include these general criteria in their regulations. We consider our experience fully transferable to other countries.