Government updates ultralight aviation regulations to address industry and ground transportation developments to improve public procurement

• The Council of Ministers has given the green light to a Royal Decree that allows pilots with European licenses to operate ultralight aircraft in Spain without the need to obtain a national license.
• Ultra-light aircraft shall be able to access controlled airspace when they meet certain pilot equipment and qualification requirements.
• The new Royal Decree also introduces clarifications in public procurement procedures for regular public road passenger transport services in order to encourage competition and promote efficiency.

Madrid, 10 March 2026 (AESA)

The Council of Ministers today approved a Royal Decree that updates and modernizes the ultralight aviation regulations with the aim of attending to the advances and evolution of the sector, while introducing improvements in the public procurement procedures of regular public passenger transport services by road.

Specifically, during its meeting today, the Council of Ministers gave the green light to the Royal Decree amending Royal Decree 123/2015 of 27 February 2015 regulating the licence and ratings of the ultralight pilot, as well as Royal Decree 765/2022 of 20 September 2022 regulating the use of ultralight motorised aircraft (ULM). 

Likewise, the new regulation approved today also modifies the Regulation of the Law on the Ordinance of Land Transport, approved by Royal Decree 1211/1990, of 28 September, in the matter of tender procedures for concessions of regular public services of passenger transport by road.

Responding to developments in ultra-light aviation

First, in the field of ultra-light aviation, this new provision responds to the evolution and progress of the sector, as well as to the need to align national regulations with the regulatory developments of the European Union and other Member States.

In particular, measures are introduced that strengthen consistency with European Union regulations and facilitate the connection between ultra-light aircraft subject to national regulation and those covered by European Union regulations. 

Thus, pilots holding European licences (LAPL, PPL, CPL, or ATPL), issued in accordance with Regulation (EU) 1178/2011, may operate ultralight motorised aircraft (ULM) in Spain without the need to obtain the national ultralight pilot licence issued by the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency (AESA). It also establishes a new access route for instructors and examiners recognised under the European framework to perform these duties in the field of ultra-light aviation. 

On the other hand, the ratings associated with ULM licences go from being valid for two years to becoming indefinite, their exercise being conditional on compliance with a requirement of recent experience, which may also be demonstrated by experience in equivalent aircraft regulated by the European Union.

Another notable development in this area is the possibility for ultra-light aircraft to access controlled airspace, provided that they have the required equipment and the pilot holds a European licence attesting competence to operate in that type of airspace, under conditions comparable to aircraft subject to the European framework.

Improving public procurement in land transport

Secondly, the Royal Decree updates the Regulation of the Law on the Regulation of Land Transport to establish a series of clarifications in the public procurement procedures in the field of land transport. 

In particular, it provides that the technical, professional and economic solvency conditions laid down in the specifications of the special administrative clauses and technical requirements of the contract may be demonstrated cumulatively by undertakings in the context of the procedures for the award of concessions for regular public passenger transport services by road. 

This precision, aligned with Law 9/2017, of November 8, on Public Sector Contracts, promotes a greater concurrence of candidacies, with the consequent favoring of competition and, ultimately, greater efficiency in the provision of these services.