AESA starts the second phase of its exemption plan for municipalities located under aeronautical easements

• The municipality of Lleida has been the first exemption issued in this phase, and will be followed by the municipalities of Madrid, Barcelona, Palma or Vigo, among others.
• These exemptions allow that the bodies of certain municipalities do not have to request prior reports from AESA for constructions or facilities, provided that it does not pose a risk to aviation safety.
• This work means a reduction of administrative burden and agility in procedures, both for local entities and for the AESA itself, which translates into a direct benefit for the citizen.

Madrid, 16 September 2025 (AESA)

The State Aviation Safety Agency (AESA) has started the second phase of its plan to grant exemptions to municipalities located within civil aeronautical easements in Spain, which delimit the protection zone around airports, helipads and radio installations in order to ensure the safety of air operations.

This measure allows applicants for actions located in these municipalities to be exempted from applying to AESA for prior favorable agreement for urban activities, such as constructions, facilities or plantations. This exemption shall take place provided that the activity does not jeopardise the safety and regularity of air operations.

The second phase has begun with the issuance of the exemption for the municipality of Lleida, which is affected by the aeronautical servitude of Lleida-Alguaire Airport and its radio installation. Likewise, it is expected to continue with the exemption of municipalities such as Madrid, Barcelona, Palma, Almería, Vitoria, Burgos, Gijón or Vigo among others.

In this second phase, the municipalities to which the exemption could not be granted in full in the first period will be treated. Therefore, after a technical analysis, this exemption will be granted in whole or in part, including in this case the plans of the municipality with the exempted areas.

Benefits for citizenship

This initiative entails a significant reduction of the administrative burden for local authorities, as well as for AESA, thus improving inter-agency coordination and streamlining administrative procedures for aeronautical easements. 

These exemptions are granted ex officio, i.e. on AESA’s own initiative, following a pre-defined plan based on population and volume criteria for processing applications, and aligned with technical and aviation safety criteria. The exemptions can be found in the ‘Aeronautical Services’ section of the Agency’s website after their publication in the Official State Gazette (BOE).

In AESA's commitment to aviation safety, the Agency will continue to make progress in this and the next phases to evaluate new geographical areas, as well as the revision of those already published may be contemplated if there is an update of a specific easement.

About AESA

AESA is the State body, attached to the Secretary of State for Transport of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, which ensures that civil aviation standards are complied with in all aeronautical activity in Spain. 
The Agency has the missions of Supervision, Inspection and Management of Air Transport, Air Navigation and Airport Security. It assesses risks to transport safety and has the power to impose penalties for breaches of civil aviation rules.