The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Brighton) (No. 2) Regulations 2026

Published: Mon 6th Jul 26

These Regulations establish a temporary restricted airspace in the vicinity of Brighton, East Sussex, on 16 July 2026.

They prohibit the flight of unmanned aircraft below 500 feet above mean sea level within specific coordinates between 0900 and 2300 hours UTC. The restrictions apply to all unmanned aircraft operators, except those granted specific permission by the designated event control team.

Arguments For

The regulations state that the Secretary of State considers the restrictions necessary in the public interest due to the gathering of a large number of persons at a music festival.
The explanatory note asserts that the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport agree the restrictions are required for reasons of public safety.
The order provides a mechanism for authorized flight, stating that the restriction does not apply to aircraft flying with permission from the event control team.

Arguments Against

Legal commentators might note that the restriction relies on precise geographical coordinates and UTC timing, which may lead to accidental non-compliance by recreational operators unfamiliar with aviation charting or time conversions.
Privacy or civil liberties advocates might question the necessity of flight bans for public gatherings if existing drone safety regulations are deemed sufficient by operators.
The document does not specify the criteria the event control team will use to grant or deny permissions, leaving the authorization process to administrative discretion.

Citation and commencement

These Regulations may be cited as the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Brighton) (No. 2) Regulations 2026 and they come into force on 16th July 2026.

This section establishes the official title of the statutory instrument.

It sets the date for when the regulations become legally enforceable as 16 July 2026.

Interpretation

In regulation 3(1) the times referred to are Co-ordinated Universal Time( b ).

( b ) Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) is one hour behind British Summer Time (BST).

This section defines the temporal standard used in the document, clarifying that all listed times refer to Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC).

It notes that UTC is one hour behind British Summer Time (BST), which is the local time in the United Kingdom during the restriction period.

Restricted airspace

-(1) Subject to paragraph (2), during the period beginning with 0900 hours and ending with 2300 hours on 16th July 2026 no unmanned aircraft is to fly below 500 feet above mean sea level within the area bounded by-

(a) a straight line joining the following points-
(i) 504911N 0000800W, and
(ii) 504904N 0000723W, and
(b) the clockwise arc of a circle having a radius of 0.21 of a nautical mile centred at 504904N 0000743W between 504904N 0000723W and 504911N 0000800W.

(2) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any unmanned aircraft flying in accordance with a permission issued by the event control team.

This section mandates a flight prohibition for unmanned aircraft within a specific geographic area defined by coordinates and a circular arc.

The restriction applies from 0900 to 2300 UTC at altitudes below 500 feet above mean sea level.

The prohibition is not absolute, as it permits flights that have received explicit authorization from the event control team.

It places the burden of compliance on any person operating an unmanned aircraft in the specified Brighton area during the 14-hour period.

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