The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Finsbury Park, London) Regulations 2026
These Regulations prohibit the flight of unmanned aircraft below 1,200 feet above mean sea level within a specified area of Finsbury Park, London, between July 3 and July 5, 2026.
The restrictions apply to all unmanned aircraft operators, with exceptions for those permitted by the Festival Republic Finsbury Park Events Silver Commander or those operated by police air support units.
The Secretary of State issued these directions to manage safety and security risks associated with large public gatherings for music concerts.
Arguments For
The Secretary of State asserts that restrictions are necessary in the public interest due to the intended gathering of a large number of persons at the specified location.
The explanatory note states that the Civil Aviation Authority and the Department for Transport agree the measures are necessary for public safety and security during scheduled music concerts.
The document cites article 239 of the Air Navigation Order 2016 as the legal basis for exercising these powers.
Arguments Against
Legal scholars or drone hobbyists might argue the geographical coordinates and MSL (Mean Sea Level) altitude requirements create complexity for recreational operators to maintain compliance without precise GPS equipment.
Civil liberties groups may express concern regarding the delegation of permission-granting authority to a private event official (Silk Commander) rather than an exclusively public agency.
Operators may find the use of Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) confusing as it differs from the local British Summer Time (BST) by one hour.
Citation and commencement
- These Regulations may be cited as the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Finsbury Park, London) Regulations 2026 and they come into force on 3rd July 2026.
This section establishes the official name of the regulations.
It sets the date on which the legal restrictions become active as July 3, 2026.
Interpretation
- The times referred to in regulation 3(2) are Co-ordinated Universal Time( b ).
( b ) Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC) is one hour behind British Summer Time (BST).
This provision clarifies the time standard used throughout the document.
It specifies that all listed times are Co-ordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is one hour behind the local time in London during the summer.
Restricted airspace
- -(1) Subject to paragraph (3), during the periods specified in paragraph (2) no unmanned aircraft is to fly below 1,200 feet above mean sea level within the area bounded by the following points-
- (a) 513354N 0000615W,
- (b) 513357N 0000620W,
- (c) 513401N 0000621W,
- (d) 513410N 0000619W,
- (e) 513420N 0000618W,
- (f) 513426N 0000617W,
- (g) 513427N 0000616W,
- (h) 513430N 0000605W,
- (i) 513432N 0000555W,
- (j) 513430N 0000555W,
- (k) 513423N 0000551W,
- (l) 513416N 0000547W,
- (m) 513414N 0000547W,
- (n) 513409N 0000554W,
- (o) 513404N 0000600W,
- (p) 513359N 0000607W, and
- (q) 513354N 0000615W.
(2) The periods referred to in paragraph (1) begin with-
- (a) 1030 hours and end with 2330 hours on 3rd July 2026,
- (b) 1100 hours and end with 2330 hours on 4th July 2026, and
- (c) 0900 hours and end with 2230 hours on 5th July 2026.
(3) Paragraph (1) does not apply to any unmanned aircraft-
- (a) flying in accordance with a permission issued by the Festival Republic Finsbury Park Events Silver Commander, or
- (b) being operated by or on behalf of a police air support unit.
This section defines the precise geographical boundaries and vertical limits of the restricted airspace using 17 sets of coordinates.
It prohibits unmanned aircraft from flying below 1,200 feet within this zone during specific windows of time over a three-day period in July 2026.
It further establishes two exceptions to the prohibition: flights authorized by the designated event commander for Festival Republic and flights conducted by or for police air support services.
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