• More than 700 operations were coordinated each month from June to August
• Catalonia led the activity with 516 operations, followed by Madrid with 451 and the Basque Country with 255
Drone operations in Spain remained at a high level throughout summer 2026. Between June and August, ENAIRE coordinated a total of 2,218 drone operations, reflecting the consolidation of the professional use of drones for an increasingly diverse and specialised range of activities.
Catalonia once again recorded the highest number of operations of any Autonomous Region, with 516 over the summer as a whole. Madrid ranked second with 451, followed by the Basque Country with 255. Together, the three regions accounted for almost 55% of all activity recorded over the period.
Andalusia recorded 209 co-ordinations and the Canary Islands 167, also confirming strong activity linked to the use of drones for aerial work such as infrastructure inspections, audiovisual recording and environmental monitoring, among other uses.
June was the busiest month, with 809 operations managed, while July and August recorded very similar figures, with 707 and 702 operations, respectively. This stability reflects the growing maturity of Spain’s drone ecosystem and the need for advanced tools to ensure safe integration with manned air traffic and support operational planning, such as ENAIRE Planea (planea.enaire.es) for submitting requests and ENAIRE Drones (drones.enaire.es) for flight planning.
Galicia saw particularly strong growth over the summer, rising from 29 operations in June to 44 in August. The Valencian Community also stood out, with 111 operations over the period as a whole, as did Castile and León, with 90.
Breakdown by Autonomous Region
|
Autonomous Region |
June |
July |
August |
Summer total |
|
Andalusia |
61 |
73 |
75 |
209 |
|
Aragon |
3 |
10 |
8 |
21 |
|
Asturias |
16 |
8 |
7 |
31 |
|
Cantabria |
18 |
22 |
30 |
70 |
|
Castile and León |
34 |
31 |
25 |
90 |
|
Castile-La Mancha |
13 |
16 |
13 |
42 |
|
Catalonia |
226 |
162 |
128 |
516 |
|
Valencian Community |
38 |
35 |
38 |
111 |
|
Extremadura |
0 |
6 |
2 |
8 |
|
Galicia |
29 |
35 |
44 |
108 |
|
Balearic Islands |
23 |
23 |
28 |
74 |
|
Canary Islands |
58 |
50 |
59 |
167 |
|
La Rioja |
1 |
8 |
3 |
12 |
|
Madrid |
171 |
125 |
155 |
451 |
|
Melilla |
4 |
3 |
4 |
11 |
|
Murcia |
2 |
1 |
2 |
5 |
|
Navarre |
17 |
8 |
12 |
37 |
|
Basque Country |
95 |
91 |
69 |
255 |
|
TOTAL |
809 |
707 |
702 |
2,218 |
About ENAIRE
ENAIRE is the air navigation service provider in Spain.
As a company of the Ministry of Sustainable Transport and Mobility, it provides air traffic control services during the en route and approach phases of all flights to and from Spain and overflights. In addition, it manages communications, navigation and surveillance services from ENAIRE in the airspace and the entire AENA airport network in Spain and provides aerodrome air traffic control services in 21 airports, including the busiest.
ENAIRE is the fourth largest European air navigation service provider, and it is a member of international partnerships A6 Alliance, SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research) Joint Undertaking, SESAR Deployment Manager, iTEC, CANSO (Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation) and collaborates closely with ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization).
ENAIRE has obtained the highest rating in the key performance indicator for air safety at European scale for six consecutive years, the last five with the maximum possible score of 100%. It has also been awarded the EFQM 600 Seal for its safe, efficient, innovative and sustainable management of air navigation services.