Drone flight emerged as a hobby during the 2010s, and many travellers bring their drones to take photos or enjoy the sport of flight at a foreign location. Drone flying is restricted in many places, though.
Understand
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Hobby-model drones are similar to remote-control planes. The latter ones are usually scale models of fixed-wing aircraft, made to fly within the operator's line of sight. Amateur drones are usually rotary-wing vessels carrying mounted cameras to be used in their operation. Although this in theory allows flight farther from the operator, they are usually kept within a similar range.
Photography is restricted or prohibited at many venues, including military and security installations. Many urban locations and airports have a general ban on private drone flight, and restrictions may apply generally out of privacy concerns (watching people in private yards by technical means is forbidden in Finland, for example).
A drone getting out of control (because of operator mistakes, high winds, damage or any malfunction) can be dangerous for people on the ground, and drone flying is often subject to permission at public events.
Drones may also fall under general aviation laws, forbidding unauthorized flight near airfields, higher than some limit or requiring a licence for any flying. There are also specific laws on drones in some countries. Some drones are programmed to follow local regulations and cannot be flown into restricted areas, but don't rely on that.
Taking your drone abroad
While there are legal ramifications of drone operation, ownership and importation in many countries (see below), for practical purposes another issue is more likely to cause problems: drones are usually equipped with lithium ion batteries and their big cousins, commercial aviation, usually have a pretty low limit on how much lithium ion batteries a passenger may carry. While you can of course bet on local airline employees not knowing and thus slipping through the cracks, the risk of having an expensive battery pack confiscated or even being denied boarding for your flight is a concern.
Prohibitions in countries
As of February 2020, the use of drones is banned entirely in these countries: Algeria, Antarctica, Bhutan, Brunei, Cote d'Ivoire, Cuba, India, Iran, Iraq, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Morocco, Nicaragua, North Korea, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Syria, and Uzbekistan.
In many of these countries, the importation of drones is also illegal: your drones may be confiscated at the border.
Many other countries permit the use of drones only where you have applied for and received a permit. In the European Union an online exam is required for drones of over 250 g, drone users must be registered, and maximum flight altitude is 120 m.
Be sure to check whether the importation and use of drones is permitted in the country you are planning to visit.
Prohibitions at tourist sites
Some countries have banned the use of drones at certain tourist sites for reason that include the security risk of drones, and the risk to the safety of the site and to other visitors. Be sure to check whether the use of drones is permitted at each site before sending your drone up.
Recreational drones are still quite new, so regulations are changing rapidly. Some examples of sites where the use of drones is prohibited as of 2020 are:
- Cambodia: Royal Palace, Phnom Penh
- Canada: All Parks Canada places, including many historical sites, are “no drone zones” for recreational use: flying a drone without park or site approval may result in law enforcement action and a fine of up to C$25,000. Drones are also banned in Ontario's Algonquin Provincial Park.
- Japan: almost anywhere in Tokyo.
- Myanmar: near the Parliament building
- South Africa: Kruger National Park
- United States: all national parks; Statue of Liberty, New York, NY; U.S.S. Constitution, Boston, MA; Independence National Park, Philadelphia, PA; Folsom Dam, Folsom, CA; Glen Canyon Dam; Lake Powell, AZ; Grand Coulee Dam, Grand Coulee, WA; Hoover Dam, Boulder City, NV; Jefferson National Expansion Memorial, St. Louis, MO; Mount Rushmore National Memorial, Keystone, SD; and Shasta Dam, Shasta Lake, CA