Instituto de Astrofísica de Canarias

Aviation routes

Aviation traffic over the observatories is regulated by the Sky Law.

Aviation routes cause pollution in the form of clouds of condensed exhaust gas and other combustion gases, which can affect the clarity of the sky.

One of the IAC's greatest successes in its work to protect the observatories was the designation of the airspace above them as an "Ecological Protection Zone” on 17th May 1998.

Technical documents

• Protected airspace and occupation procedure. (Mayo 2001) (pdf, 91 Kb)
• Other overflight restrictions. (June 2005) (pdf, 40 Kb)