Los Angeles, CA Drone Rules: Airport Proximity Rules (2026)

31, added by Ordinance No. 183,912 effective December 2, 2015, sets citywide rules for Uncrewed Aircraft Systems, commonly called drones. Subsection (b)(1) is unambiguous: no person may operate any Model Aircraft within the City of Los Angeles and within 5 miles of an airport without the prior express authorization of the airport air traffic control tower. Because Los Angeles hosts LAX, Hollywood Burbank, Van Nuys, Santa Monica, and Whiteman airports, the five-mile radius from each overlaps to cover the large majority of the city's land area, so a hobbyist pilot cannot assume any given launch point is clear of the rule without checking proximity to a tower first.

The same subsection layers on additional citywide conditions that apply everywhere, airport zone or not: the aircraft must stay within the operator's unaided visual line of sight, fly only between official sunrise and sunset, stay at or below 400 feet above ground level, and stay 25 feet from bystanders except during takeoff and landing. 13, a standard the airport-proximity rule effectively enforces at the local level. 00(m): a fine of up to $1,000, up to six months in county jail, or both. Public-agency drones flown under valid FAA authorization are exempt under subsection (e).