Flying a drone in Cyprus: rules, geo-zones, flights near Sotira

The basic rules of the open category

Since 1 January 2021, every drone in Cyprus, from small consumer devices to large aircraft, has been subject to EU legislation drawn up by the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). As everywhere in the EU, the Cyprus Department of Civil Aviation distinguishes three categories: open, specific and certified. Holidaymakers almost always fly in the open category.

According to the department's answers, the rules there are: no higher than 120 metres above ground, the drone stays within visual line of sight or an observer assists, it carries no dangerous goods and drops nothing. Flying directly over people is only allowed for drones with a class label or weighing less than 250 grams. The subcategory depends on the class label or the weight. Class C0 drones and privately built drones under 250 grams fly in A1, which means almost anywhere except over assemblies of people. Class C2 drones fly in A2, including in built-up areas, but keeping a distance from uninvolved people at least equal to the flying height and never less than 5 metres. Classes C3 and C4 and privately built drones up to 25 kilograms fly in A3, at least 150 metres from residential, commercial and industrial areas and only where no uninvolved people are present.

On top of that, whatever the geo-zone map says applies everywhere. How it works and which zones lie around Sotira is covered in the next two sections.

Registration and the drone pilot exam

It is the operator who is registered, not the drone, and registration is with the aviation authority of the EASA state where the operator lives (EASA). The EASA states are all EU countries plus Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Iceland (Swiss Federal Office of Civil Aviation). The number is valid in all of these states, and you may not register twice. If you are registered in Germany, Austria, Switzerland or another EASA state, you therefore do not need to register again for Cyprus. According to the Cypriot department, registration is required for drones over 250 grams and for lighter drones with a camera or another sensor able to capture personal data. The number must be displayed permanently on every drone and, where possible, uploaded to the remote identification system.

If you live outside the EASA states, you register in the first EU country where you intend to fly; if that is Cyprus, it is done through drones.gov.cy: registration costs 15 euros, is valid for three years and is only possible from the age of 18, with a responsible person registering on behalf of anyone younger. The EU does not recognise training or licences obtained outside the EU.

For the A1 and A3 subcategories, the pilot needs a certificate from an online training course with an exam. In Cyprus the training and exam cost 15 euros together; the exam has 40 questions, the pass mark is 75 per cent, three attempts are allowed and the certificate is valid for five years. If you fly a class C0 drone under 250 grams, the exam is not required, though the department still recommends it. For A2 you also need to complete and declare practical self-training and pass an additional exam of 30 questions, after which the department issues the A2 certificate. Pilots must be at least 16, and younger pilots fly under supervision. Training completed in another EASA state is recognised in Cyprus.

The official geo-zone map

With decree R.A.A. (Κ.Δ.Π.) 190/2024, amended by R.A.A. (Κ.Δ.Π.) 123/2025, Cyprus has set out its geographical zones under Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 2019/947. On the department's map, prohibited zones are red and zones requiring authorisation are yellow. In a yellow zone you may only fly once the zone's administrator has approved an application; the forms for the airports and for the National Guard are on drones.gov.cy.

The department also publishes the zones as a file. According to the department, anyone flying a drone of class C1, C2, C3, C5 or C6 must load it into the drone's geo-awareness system. It warns explicitly that the Cyprus map preinstalled on most DJI drones is not the correct one.

By our analysis, the version of 6 May 2025 contains 141 zones. In 29 flying is prohibited, including the inner zones of Larnaca and Paphos airports and police buildings, and in 112 it requires authorisation. The reasons given in the file are sensitive sites, privacy and air traffic; it contains no nature conservation zones. Around Larnaca Airport there is a prohibited zone A and a zone B for which an application at least 10 working days in advance and third-party insurance of 1,000,000 euros are required.

Around Sotira: the zones nearby

We analysed the 6 May 2025 file for the area around Sotira and calculated distances as the crow flies from the map point for the village to the edge of each zone. The village centre itself is not in any zone, but the nearest begins only around 1.1 kilometres away: a National Guard circle with a radius of 1.3 kilometres west of the village. Two more National Guard zones follow at around 4.3 and 6.3 kilometres. All three carry the same message: flights only with the administrator's approval, and electronic countermeasures may be in operation that could bring a drone down.

The Electricity Authority (EAC) is responsible for several zones requiring authorisation, the nearest, named "Sotira", around 3.2 kilometres away, and others near Agios Nikolaos, around 6.7 kilometres away, and near Protaras, around 7.5 kilometres away. Famagusta General Hospital is surrounded by a circle with a radius of 400 metres, around 4.1 kilometres from Sotira; flying there requires permission from the state health services organisation SHSO, applied for at least a week in advance. Flying is prohibited over the Famagusta district police headquarters, around 4.4 kilometres away, and over Ayia Napa police station, around 5.8 kilometres away.

The Larnaca Airport zones begin around 27 kilometres as the crow flies west of Sotira. Because the map can change, this analysis is no substitute for checking the current version before every flight.

Flamingos, birds and privacy

The fact that the geo-zones include no nature reserves does not mean that everything the aviation rules allow is fine over wetlands. BirdLife Cyprus writes that flamingos are particularly sensitive to disturbance in winter, when they need to rest and feed before the breeding season; drones overhead are among the disturbances that drive them from their feeding areas and cost them energy they need for migration. If you want to film at Paralimni Lake or the Larnaca salt lakes, keep well away. Where the birds spend the winter is set out in the guide to flamingos.

At Achna reservoir, the conditions for angling licences explicitly ban the use of unmanned devices for fishing or as a fishing aid.

For light drones, the registration requirement depends on whether a camera or sensor can capture personal data, and the Cypriot department's online training deals specifically with privacy and data protection. Some of the zones requiring authorisation, such as the one around Famagusta General Hospital, are expressly justified in the file on grounds of privacy.

The British Sovereign Base Areas and Suite 203

West of Sotira lies the British Sovereign Base Area of Dhekelia. There, and in Akrotiri, it is not the Republic of Cyprus that is responsible but the Sovereign Base Areas Administration. If you want to fly there, ask the administration first.

Suite 203 in Sotira is expected to be ready for occupancy in March 2027. If you want to fly from there, check the current geo-zone map before every flight, because the nearest National Guard zone is only just over a kilometre from the village centre, and respect the building's house rules and your neighbours' privacy.