San Antonio, TX Drone Rules: Airport Proximity Rules (2026)

San Antonio Code of Ordinances Sec. 3-74 bars operators of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) from entering the Class C or Class D airspace shared by both airports in the San Antonio Airport System unless the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower has granted prior authorization; the tower's direct line is 210-805-5507. A separate, broader trigger applies within a three-mile radius of either airport: before any flight in that zone, the operator must contact both the Airport Duty Manager at 210-207-3433 and the FAA Air Traffic Control Tower, regardless of altitude or whether the flight actually enters controlled airspace.

The ordinance places enforcement jointly with federal and local authorities: unauthorized UAS operations are investigated by the FAA with the assistance of local law enforcement as required, meaning San Antonio police can respond to and document a violation even though the underlying airspace authority is federal. The rule was adopted by Ordinance No. 2018-04-12-0266 (Att. 1), which added Sec. 3-74 to Article II, Division 2 of Chapter 3, the airport operations division covering both the international airport and Stinson Municipal Airport. Because the ordinance folds federal Class C/D airspace rules into city code, a hobbyist or commercial drone operator flying anywhere near either field needs to check current airspace status and get the required phone clearance rather than relying on a phone app's general no-fly-zone map, since the local notification duty applies at three miles even where the app might show the flight as technically legal.