Flying in Mexico - prohibited for Americans?

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Rob Levine

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So I've been trying to nail this down. I finally got a response from some Mexican authorities - here it is:

The Mexican regulation does not allow to give a permit to fly a Foreign Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) drone in Mexico. This prohibition is established in Circular Obligatoria CO AV-23/10 R3 paragraph 7.2.y). For your information the Circular Obligatoria aforementioned establishes the requirements and limitations to operate RPAS in Mexican airspace and it is in Spanish only. If you want, you could obtain a copy of the Circular Obligatoria in the following link:

http://www.sct.gob.mx/fileadmin/DireccionesGrales/DGAC-archivo/modulo3/co-av-23-10-r3.pdf​

I send a reply asking if this means that US pilots cannot fly in Mexico. Awaiting a reply.

The linked document is NOT a text PDF - it is scans of documents..so untranslatable. Maybe we could pitch in to get it translated?
 
Got a reply...so it IS illegal for any US citizen to operate a drone in Mexico:

His first reply:

"It is correct, it is not possible to grant authorization for pilots and US companies to provide services to Drones to Mexico, until there is a bilateral agreement where the rules for their acceptance are established for both countries."​

I asked if this applied to both commercial and rec fliers; he replied: '

"Is correct, it that applies to both commercial & recreational fliers, and so is necessary obtain Bilateral Agreement between FAA and DGAC, for established the conditions and limitations for do it."​
 
Rob Levine said:
Got a reply...so it IS illegal for any US citizen to operate a drone in Mexico:

His first reply:

"It is correct, it is not possible to grant authorization for pilots and US companies to provide services to Drones to Mexico, until there is a bilateral agreement where the rules for their acceptance are established for both countries."​

I asked if this applied to both commercial and rec fliers; he replied: '

"Is correct, it that applies to both commercial & recreational fliers, and so is necessary obtain Bilateral Agreement between FAA and DGAC, for established the conditions and limitations for do it."​
Click to expand...
BTW this info comes from this guy:

ng. Pablo Carranza Plata.
Director General AdjuntO de Aviación
DIRECCION GENERAL DE AERONAUTICA CIVIL
Tels. (+52 55) 5723-9300 / 5482-4100 Ext. 18070,
Blvd. Adolfo López Mateos 1990, 2º piso
Col. Los Alpes Tlacopac, Del. Álvaro Obregón,
C.P. 01010, en México, D. F.​
 
gplracer said:
Gosh, I am going to Cancun in March. I was really wanted to take my Phantom.
Click to expand...
Too bad, I don't think Mexico is anyplace where you want to try pushing anything!
 
Richard R said:
Too bad, I don't think Mexico is anyplace where you want to try pushing anything!
Click to expand...
Things aren't likely to change soon, either. The rep from Mexico was insistent that what is needed to change the situation is a bilateral agreement between Mexico and the US on drones. With Trump constantly dumping on Mexico I can't see that happening anytime soon, but I'd like to be wrong.
 
Rob Levine said:
Got a reply...so it IS illegal for any US citizen to operate a drone in Mexico:

His first reply:

"It is correct, it is not possible to grant authorization for pilots and US companies to provide services to Drones to Mexico, until there is a bilateral agreement where the rules for their acceptance are established for both countries."​

I asked if this applied to both commercial and rec fliers; he replied: '

"Is correct, it that applies to both commercial & recreational fliers, and so is necessary obtain Bilateral Agreement between FAA and DGAC, for established the conditions and limitations for do it."​
Click to expand...


I'm not sure where he is coming from.... the FAA allows non-US residents to fly with a 107 certificate - assuming they pass the 107 test:

Here is the relevent text... the PDF link at the bottom is the FAA notice

What do I need to bring with me to take the aeronautical knowledge test?
All applicants must bring a valid and current form of identification that includes their photo, date of birth, signature, and physical residential address. Acceptable forms of identification include:

What to bring in order to take the knowledge test
U.S. Citizen and Resident Aliens Non-U.S. Citizens
  • Driver permit or license issued by a U.S. state or territory
  • U.S. Government identification card
  • U.S. Military identification card
  • Passport
  • Alien residency card
  • Passport
    AND
  • Driver permit or license issued by a U.S. state or territory
    OR
  • Identification card issued by any government entity
More information is available in the FAA Airman Knowledge Testing
Matrix (PDF).
 
CactusJackSlade said:
I'm not sure where he is coming from.... the FAA allows non-US residents to fly with a 107 certificate - assuming they pass the 107 test:

Here is the relevent text... the PDF link at the bottom is the FAA notice

What do I need to bring with me to take the aeronautical knowledge test?
All applicants must bring a valid and current form of identification that includes their photo, date of birth, signature, and physical residential address. Acceptable forms of identification include:

What to bring in order to take the knowledge test
U.S. Citizen and Resident Aliens Non-U.S. Citizens
  • Driver permit or license issued by a U.S. state or territory
  • U.S. Government identification card
  • U.S. Military identification card
  • Passport
  • Alien residency card
  • Passport
    AND
  • Driver permit or license issued by a U.S. state or territory
    OR
  • Identification card issued by any government entity
More information is available in the FAA Airman Knowledge Testing
Matrix (PDF).
Click to expand...
Actually, the US also allows foreign pilots to register and fly as hobby fliers. There have been a couple (UK and Canada that I remember for sure) that have reported doing so. Just no rules accepted by both parties yet.
 
Rob Levine said:
Got a reply...so it IS illegal for any US citizen to operate a drone in Mexico:

His first reply:

"It is correct, it is not possible to grant authorization for pilots and US companies to provide services to Drones to Mexico, until there is a bilateral agreement where the rules for their acceptance are established for both countries."​

I asked if this applied to both commercial and rec fliers; he replied: '

"Is correct, it that applies to both commercial & recreational fliers, and so is necessary obtain Bilateral Agreement between FAA and DGAC, for established the conditions and limitations for do it."​
Click to expand...
Did anyone ever get an answer regarding recreational use?
To me, it sounds like the Mexican official was talking about commercial use, not recreational use.
He said "grant authorization... to provide services", not to fly recreationally.

I would have thought by now that we would have heard about drones being held at customs in Mexico or people being banned from flying in Mexico. So far I haven't been able to find any stories of encountering this ban.

Maybe it's just wishful thinking that I should bring my P4P to mexico this week!
 
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Well, I decided not to bring my P4P to Cabo, Mexico.
But, I could have and flown without a problem, I think.

First, I got lucky and none of my luggage was inspected at all. But that was just because I didn't get the "red" light at customs. So, in this case, bringing the drone into Mexico would not have been an issue.

But after arriving in Cabo San Lucas, I asked every official I could find about flying a drone.
I asked the resort security guards, the local police, the Federal police, and a few other random, but official looking law enforcement people. All of them immediately said there's not problem for anyone to fly a drone. They all said, "Sure, it's no problem."

Now this is obviously not "official", but I was surprised that no one even had a doubt. Maybe if I did start flying a drone, their reaction might have been different, but there's no way to know for sure.

I was also surprised that after a week here, I have yet to see a single drone being flown anywhere.

I take no responsibility for any issues people might have flying drones in Mexico, but if I had known what I know now, I would totally have brought my P4P to Cabo. (Although most days it was pretty windy here, so I don't know how much flying I would have done.)
 
I was recently invited by a company out of SoCal to go down to San Felipe to demo an i2. This is in preparation for the races down there this year including the 1000. I declined, but also mentioned to them flying down there as an American. They said there were no regs against flying a UAV that they knew of. They left yesterday, Ill see if I can get an update sometime soon. This is all commercial work.
 
dfphoto said:
Well, I decided not to bring my P4P to Cabo, Mexico.
But, I could have and flown without a problem, I think.

First, I got lucky and none of my luggage was inspected at all. But that was just because I didn't get the "red" light at customs. So, in this case, bringing the drone into Mexico would not have been an issue.

But after arriving in Cabo San Lucas, I asked every official I could find about flying a drone.
I asked the resort security guards, the local police, the Federal police, and a few other random, but official looking law enforcement people. All of them immediately said there's not problem for anyone to fly a drone. They all said, "Sure, it's no problem."

Now this is obviously not "official", but I was surprised that no one even had a doubt. Maybe if I did start flying a drone, their reaction might have been different, but there's no way to know for sure.

I was also surprised that after a week here, I have yet to see a single drone being flown anywhere.

I take no responsibility for any issues people might have flying drones in Mexico, but if I had known what I know now, I would totally have brought my P4P to Cabo. (Although most days it was pretty windy here, so I don't know how much flying I would have done.)
Click to expand...
I don't doubt this report - or the word of the officials. However, according to Mexico City it IS illegal for foreigners to operate drones, commercially or recreationally in Mexico. If they really wanted to they could stick it to you. Unlikely, true, but possible.
 
So my buddy is in Mexico today filming...... If you guys are interested, go on the SCORE Internationals FB page to see drone footage shot today in Mexico......

I should be there right now:/......... **** wife and kids. Lol
 

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