The Munich police warns of drone flights during the security conference. Hobby pilots would incur unnecessary annoyance when they drive drones within 5.5 kilometers of the event hotel, said a police spokesman on Saturday.
The day before, the officials in the prohibited area had registered seven illegal flights with remote-controlled aircraft. Four amateur pilots aged 12, 14, 16 and 54 were caught. They are now threatened with criminal proceedings.
The Aviation Act provides for a sentence of imprisonment of up to two years or a fine in such cases. In the event of negligence, imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to 180 daily rates is imminent.
The German Air Traffic Control had issued a no-fly zone around the hotel for the duration of the security conference between Friday morning (7:00 am) and Sunday evening (19:00 pm). The restricted area extends from the ground to the so-called "flight surface 100", which corresponds to about 3000 meters altitude.
There are only a few exceptions
The ban on flights in this area explicitly applies to "all flights, including the operation of model airplanes and unmanned aerial systems." Thus, it extends to the colloquially known as drones multicopter, which are usually equipped with four, sometimes with six or more propellers.
Excluded from the flight restrictions around the venue are, according to air traffic control, "state aircraft in connection with the security conference, flights of the police, flights in the rescue and disaster relief operation and in principle flights under instrument flight rules at altitudes of 5500 feet above sea level."
The police spokesman emphasized that none of the drones registered on Friday had flown in the immediate vicinity of the event hotel.