Drone regulations in Hungary
Last update on 02.05.2021 | 20 Kommentare
In this post, we have summarized for you the current laws for the use of drones in Hungary.
In Hungary, the EU drone regulation applies together with a national drone law. With the EU regulation, the rules for remote pilots have been largely harmonized. You only have to register as an operator in one European country and your EU drone license will also be recognized across national borders.
Registration as a drone operator in Hungary is still done using a form. You can find it here .
Overview of the European rules that apply in Hungary
In Hungary, the regulations of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) apply. The following is a summary of the key facts. For a complete overview, read our article on the new EU drone regulation.
National peculiarities in Hungary
Each country can define certain aspects of its drone regulations. For Hungary, the following requirements apply in addition to the European regulations.
State Aviation Department at the Ministry of Defense: [email protected] or +36/1/474-12-74
Further regulations for drone pilots in Hungary
Drones weighing 250 grams or more must be insured. The amounts insured are graded according to the weight of the drone as follows:
- 250 grams to 4 kilograms: 3,000,000 forints (approx. 8500 euros) per insured event and 6,000,000 forints (approx. 17,000 euros) over the insurance period
- From 4 kilograms to 20 kilograms: 5,000,000 forints (approx. 14,000 euros) per insured event and 10,000,000 forints (approx. 28,000 euros) over the insurance period
- 20 to 200 kilograms: 10,000,000 forints (approx. 28,000 euros) per insured event
Apply for airspace clearance
In a residential area, drones may only be used after applying for a temporary airspace clearance. Other areas may only be overflown with specially allocated airspace. The use of the mydronespace app is mandatory. Temporarily closed areas are also displayed there.
For temporary clearance (Temporary Designated AirSpace Eseti légtér engedély) you need a permit from the Military Aviation Authority. You should submit the application 30 days before you plan to use the drone. The procedure for this changed in April 2020 and there is only one electronic and one paper-based form that can be submitted by post. Sending the form by e-mail only seems to be possible in exceptional cases. For the electronic form, you need Java and a special program to fill out the form. You can find the electronic forms and instructions in English here. If you prefer to work with the paper form, you can download it in Hungarian. You need the exact coordinates, altitude, type (commercial or private), and dates of your planned flight. You will also have to pay a handling fee of 9,000 forints (about 25 euros), which you can pay via bank transfer. The authority recommends that you submit your application 45 to 60 days before your planned drone flight.
Be careful when leaving the country
When you leave Hungary by plane, there is a special feature to consider: Un Hungary, you can not take your copter in your luggage. On departure from Hungary, you have to transport your copter with your checked baggage.
We have researched the listed drone regulations for Hungary to the best of our knowledge. We can not guarantee the correctness of the information. If you want to be on the safe side, please contact the competent aviation authority. Alternatively, you can also ask the embassy in your country for further information about the regulations. Please leave us a comment when you receive news and/or gain experience with your copter in Hungary!
One watch out if you travel to Hungary:
http://www.bud.hu/english/passengers/faq/frequently-asked-questions-about-drones-23143.html
Drone is not allowed in you hand baggage!
Hello, i can confirm now i just passed the security check and i argue like no tomorrow but i had to check-in.
mine is a Simple Mavic Pro.
be carefull because i found only on this site this information. on the airport there are no advice before the security check.
This is the most stupid rule on the world. Basically you cannot bring drone at the gate.
may i double check if flying drone in hungary, specifically budapest, is still permissible? there are many news around on the web and now i’m confused
thanks so much!
Hello,
Nice site with useful information. I can see the last update was pretty long ago, that’s why I’d like to inform you about Hungary’s new law about drones:
Depending on the exact place where you would like to use the drone, you need to have an official permit (http://legter.hu/en/).
You always have to check the map for what kind of permit you need for using your drone (http://terkep.legter.hu/).
Pretty difficult here also. 🙁
Hope I could help.
Bests,
Gergo
Any updates on the Hungarian rules? I am traveling there in late Jan and the only information I can find is about “drones not being allowed in your hand language”.
Any information would be of great help.
Awesome informative page
Firstly – what an awesome site, a fantastic resource and I hope you can help with my question.
My 16 year old son will be travelling to Romania with a school group to take part in a charity project (building houses). He is flying from Ireland and lands in Budapest and then travels overland to the site in Romania. I was hoping to lend him a DJI Spark and a GoPro to document the build. He’s a smart kid and could be trusted not to fly in restricted, prohibited or dangerous areas etc, plus there will be adult supervision at all times. My worry is that he is not a seasoned traveler and even small problems at customs could potentially tarnish the trip. I can take the risk of the losing the drone but would hate to jeopardize his enjoyment. Supposing he traveled with the drone in his checked luggage – do you think he would be okay or would he require documentation etc. Any thoughts would be great – and well done on a really useful site.
Derek, not sure if your son’s trip has taken place or not. As a frequent traveler to Romania through the Budapest airport, as recent as last month (May), I can say that if you put the Spark in his checked luggage, he’ll be fine (he can keep the GoPro in his carry-on. No documentation needed at all, either at the Hungarian Customs desk, the Romanian border when he crosses over, or back at the Hungary border coming back towards Budapest. The only issue is taking the drone in your carry-on bags through the Hungary airports – not allowed. But in checked luggage, no problem. As an aside, I do think permission/documentation is required if he wants to fly it IN Hungary, but if he’s just carrying it while in Hungary, he’ll be fine if he checks it in his luggage.
Hope he enjoys Romania – beautiful country, wonderful people (I’m transitioning to go live there myself, from the USA 😉 ).
Hope this helps,
William
I have a question for you.
If a drone is flying above my land, filming my family and my animals, and it is close enough that I can shoot it with an air pistol, am I acting illegally if I shoot it down?
Nope. Only governments have a right to take down an aerial vehicle
Guys! Also worth mentioning that since hungary is turning into a totalitarian police state, they can take your drone with the “You dont have a license to fly drones” arguement. Its worth noting that beside Aerospace usage you need a “drones license” but it doesnt exist officialy in hungary yet.
What are you speaking about AlanCnut? “Hungary is turning into a totalitarian police state”
This problem with drones is not easy to understand for me either, but I can tell you one thing. I was travelling out to Amsterdam/Oslo/London/Narvik etc from Budapest, and only in Budapest Airport they found my small piece of steel in my shoes, asked me to open my luggage to have a look inside for the crazy number of cable and winchesters I have in the luggage. In Budapest airport they have better detection and much more strickter rules then in many other int. airport. That it is. You comment of “totalitarian police state” was offending me and many fellow Hungarian.
B#*$*”d! I’m going to Budapest tomorrow and now I see this! Was really hoping on getting some epic drone shots and since I’m only taking carry on well that’s that out the window, I don’t understand why your allowed to carry a drone into Budapest with carry on and no hassle ( like your supposed to with batterys etc) but when you travel back to your own country this is not permitted!? That really is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.
I’m going to Budapest in a couple of weeks, will I be fine getting my drone though in checked lougage? Thanks
First of all, Hungary isn’t turning into a totalitarian police state. They only take your drone away if you fly over mass of people, goverment facilities etc. For flying a recreational drone the rules are pretty simple.
I am going to Budapest in a couple weeks and then on to Sweden after. I have no intention of flying while in Budapest / Hungary, but would like to take the drone along with me to Sweden after so will have to carry with me through Hungary.
Sounds like as long as I check it when going in / out of Hungary, I would be fine and don’t need anything else like proof of insurance / license / etc., but want to make sure before I take it with me Anyone have an update and know if this is still OK?
I flew into budapest with my drone checked baggage no problem. On way home they force me check my small bag and would not let me bring on the plane. I dont understand the reasoning bit their country their rules. Cost me 25 euro ughh.
Basically, if you have to Apply for airspace clearance, You can never fly your drone. For example, if I want to fly every weekend it’s an endless applying over and over again 52 times a year. OMG…
Yep, and you have to apply for airspace clearance at least 30 days before, preferably even earlier, BUT not earlier than 60 days, because then they’ll just reject your application because it’s “unforeseeable”. Oh, and one application costs almost 10 EUR (even if it’s rejected).
I just landed in Budapest and no one checked anything (including my passport). I just walked right off the plane and into the country. I only brought a carry on. I have rented a car though and will be driving out of Hungary so I’m not too worried about having to check my carry on for the return flight home. All that said, in my experience, any country that makes you apply for a permit to fly a drone, makes the process so complicated and/or unreasonable that you can never legal fly. I reached out to multiple foreign governments over the last year asking to apply and NONE of them even wrote me back with HOW to apply. What a joke. Kenya, Hungary, Ecuador (Galapagos), Tanzania…the list goes on. NO ONE has written back. I’ve flown my drone, however…away from people (any people…as in no one around to get me in trouble). If I get caught…well, I guess I’ll try to talk my way out of it. What can you do though? You try to follow the rules and they don’t even respond. ????????♂️ Best of luck, everyone.
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