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The use of drones is governed by the new Cabinet Regulations, which came into force in the summer of 2019, as well as the aviation law and the EU regulation. The requirements apply to anyone operating flights with drone, organising drone flights and owning or managing a drone. High-risk flights need to pass the pilot test and also to insure the flight.

Not only are the skills to drive and keep it in the air, but also the ability to ensure an appropriate level of safety without harming yourself or others is important to flying a drone. Any drone, regardless of size and weight, is an unmanned aircraft.

The regulations approved by the Cabinet also provide that in future, a remote pilot will be able to become 16 years old, with the exception of flights at high risk, which can be performed from the age of 18.

What should be done if you want to take a flight with a drone in the city of Jelgava:

• be licensed by the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA);
• the application and the CAA permit must be submitted to Jelgava city municipality – customer service center or electronically dome@dome.jelgava.lv (the application must specify the scheduled flight time, location, as well as the technical characteristics of the unmanned aircraft, including photographs, the application shall also be accompanied by a CAA permit for high-risk flight. The flight planned by the local government must be applied for at least 10 days before it is carried out, and the permit must also be accompanied during the flight.);
• Jelgava City Municipality prepares permit, sends permit for drone pilot, informs the State Police, the State Security Service (security police) and the local government police, as well as the customer service centre in Jelgava City Municipality;
• the drone pilot must carry both the permit issued by the CAA and the permit issued by the Jelgava City Municipality.

In Jelgava, as elsewhere in Latvia, there are rules on places where drone flights, in addition to the CAA agreement, are required to obtain the permission of the owner or possessor of the site, mainly civil and military security-related sites. In Jelgava, it is the fire depo (Dobeles iela 16), the State Police Zemgale region station (Pētera iela 5, Katoļu iela 8a), the National Guard’s 52nd Battalion Building (Dambja iela 22), as well as Jelgava Prison (Palīdzības iela 3, 7).

Non-coordinated or dangerous drone operating will result in an administrative penalty of between 150 and 3000 euros.