Drone in
Barcelona
Flying a drone inside Barcelona city is not like flying in the countryside: you are in an urban area, over people and within the airport CTR. We are an AESA-authorised operator and we handle it so that your shoot in the Eixample, the Gothic Quarter, the 22@ or the seafront is legal and trouble-free.
Drone in
Barcelona
Block by block,
every flight is different
Barcelona is not flown the same everywhere. The street layout, the height of the buildings and what lies below change the way we plan the shot. This is how we work each area.
The Eixample
Cerdà's grid is the city's most recognisable image. Here we shoot penthouses, rooftops and roofs for real estate and corporate, with top-down shots of the blocks and tilted shots over the chamfered corners.
Ciutat Vella and the Gothic Quarter
Narrow streets, bell towers and irregular rooftops. Here precise, low-altitude flying takes priority for boutique hotels, heritage restorations and urban tourism content.
The 22@ and Sant Martí
The tech district is all offices, headquarters and new builds. Here we record corporate video, development progress and brand imagery for companies in Poblenou.
Gràcia
Squares, flat rooftops and the most neighbourhood-like fabric. A good setting for residential real estate, local commerce and festa major and street-life content.
Montjuïc
The hill of the great venues: the Olympic ring, museums, gardens and the city view. Wide shots for events, culture and tourism.
Seafront and Barceloneta
The seafront, hotels, the Port and the beaches. The most photogenic area for tourism and hospitality, always with up-to-date urban flight coordination.
Why flying in
Barcelona is complex
The city centre is one of the busiest airspaces in Catalonia. This is the reality we manage before the drone takes off.
If you open the ENAIRE viewer over Barcelona, you don't see an empty sky. You see overlapping layers of restrictions: the whole city falls within the environment of the El Prat airport CTR, the controlled airspace where commercial traffic takes off and lands. On top of that, the city is an urban area over gatherings of people, a risk category that European regulations treat with special care.
And then there are the local islands. Barcelona has several active heliports right in the urban fabric: the hospital heliports operated by the Government of Catalonia (the Generalitat) —such as the one at the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu or the one at Vall d'Hebron, through which urgent medical transfers arrive—, the RACC heliport and the Fira one. Each generates its own protection perimeter that must be respected.
Faced with this, we don't improvise. For each urban shoot we do four things: we coordinate the flight with ENAIRE within the CTR, we notify the operation to the Mossos d'Esquadra as the security authority in Catalonia, we request the specific authorisation from the heliport operator when the shoot falls within a hospital or RACC zone, and we adjust altitude, perimeter and time window so that nothing interferes with medical or air traffic. All of this before mounting the first battery.
Barcelona
in aerial view
Sample material. Your roof, your development or your event, here soon.
Who asks us
to fly in the city
In Barcelona, drone work is above all urban. These are the most common assignments within the centre.
Real estate
Penthouses, rooftops, roofs and new-build developments. A single aerial image shows the orientation, the views and the neighbourhood context better than any description. Drone for real estate agencies →
Hotels
Seafront, rooftops with pools and hotels in the Gothic Quarter. Aspirational imagery that places the property in relation to the sea, the Rambla or the city's venues. Hotels and tourism →
Corporate
Headquarters, offices and campuses in the 22@ and the Eixample. Brand shots, annual reports and institutional content at a different scale. Aerial video →
Tourism
City content for campaigns, agencies and destinations: Montjuïc, the Port, the neighbourhoods and the façades everyone wants to see from the air.
Events
Fairs, festes majors, cultural and sporting events. We cover the event from a point of view impossible from the ground, with coordinated flight. Events →
Urban photography
High-resolution still imagery of roofs, façades and blocks for architecture, press and communications. Aerial photography →
How we fly
safely
Shooting in the centre of Barcelona only makes sense if it's done with all the documentation in order. Here it is.
If you want to see everything we can do and how each service fits within the city, check out the services page or tell us about your project from contact.
Flying in the city,
sorted
Can you fly a drone inside Barcelona city?
Yes, but not in just any way. The entire city falls within the environment of the El Prat airport CTR and is an urban area over gatherings of people, so every flight needs prior coordination. As an AESA-authorised operator we handle the authorisation, the coordination with ENAIRE and the notification to the authorities before each shoot.
What permits are needed to film with a drone in the Eixample or Ciutat Vella?
Flying over dense urban fabric like the Eixample or the Gothic Quarter requires an authorisation for operations in urban areas, coordination with air traffic control and prior notification to the Mossos d'Esquadra as the security authority in Catalonia. We handle it and confirm the flight window before heading out to shoot. Here we explain the whole process.
What about the hospital and RACC heliports?
Barcelona has several active heliports: the hospital ones operated by the Government of Catalonia (the Generalitat) (such as the one at Hospital Sant Joan de Déu or the one at Vall d'Hebron), the RACC one and the Fira one. When a shoot falls near one of these zones, we request the specific authorisation from the heliport operator and adjust the flight altitude and perimeter so it does not interfere with medical or air traffic.
How much advance notice do you need for an urban flight?
For a flight within the city we recommend booking a few days ahead, because the coordination with ENAIRE and the notification to the Mossos d'Esquadra have their own deadlines. If it is right next to a heliport or a particularly sensitive zone, we ask for a little more time to finalise the authorisations.
Can you film the seafront and the Barceloneta?
Yes. The seafront, the Barceloneta and the Port area are among the most in-demand locations for hotels, real estate and tourism. Even though it is right on the seafront, it is still an urban area within the CTR, so we also apply the full coordination there before flying.
Are you a legal and insured operator to fly in the city?
Yes. We are an AESA-authorised operator, with certified pilots and civil liability insurance of €1,500,000. All the documentation is in order, which is precisely what lets you shoot with peace of mind in the centre of Barcelona.