Latvia's Civil Aviation Agency warns of increased drone activity nationwide

Latvia's Civil Aviation Agency (CAA) has announced that increased unmanned aircraft activity may be observed throughout the country over the coming days, as operators assess damage to the electricity grid caused by a recent storm.

Permission for beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights

The CAA has granted AS "Sadales tīkls" and its contracted drone operators permission to conduct beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights across the entire national airspace. The purpose is to identify damage to power grid infrastructure and support storm recovery efforts. Flights are permitted up to an altitude of 120 metres above ground level.

Duration of the warning

The airspace warning applies from 16:00 on August 24 until 02:59 on August 27. During this period, elevated drone activity linked to emergency recovery work may occur anywhere in the country.

Call for caution from other pilots

The CAA is urging all other remote drone pilots and operators to exercise particular caution and take the increased drone activity into account. It recommends avoiding flights near power grid infrastructure so as not to interfere with the work of emergency services and specialists.

The agency also reminded operators of manned aircraft that, under EU flight regulations, permission from the CAA is required for flights below 500 feet (approximately 152 metres) outside populated areas and below 1,000 feet (approximately 304 metres) above populated areas. Such flights are prohibited without the appropriate CAA authorisation.

The increased drone deployment follows damage caused by storm "Priska," which brought strong winds that uprooted and broke trees, snapped large branches, and damaged urban infrastructure and public amenities in several locations, including Riga.