Regulations for Spain

Went on a cruise to The Canary Isles a couple of weeks ago with a well know Norwegian cruise line (the pink rinse brigade, if you know what I mean !).
Got to Southampton departure terminal, and the Port Security seized my Phantom 4 in it's case and said "We will have to see if the on board ships security will allow it on board"
I showed him the Phantom in it's case, with each battery safely stored in a fireproof bag.
As usual, the Wife went nuts!, "I told you not to bring that thing", (blah, blah, blah !)
At 5.30pm (ship sailing time) I go to SEACO (ships security) at the Gangplank, and was told my drone was being held at the Ships Reception Desk.
Great !, I thought we are on our way !!.
2 days later, while we are at sea on our way to Funchal.
I get a letter attached to my cabin door addressed from the Guest Relations Manager on board.
I straight away went to his office, introduced myself ,shook his hand, and was amazed that he had over the past 2 days, had contacted ALL the relevant countries/islands we were going to visit over the next 2 weeks of our cruise!!!.
ALL the written responses he had from each of the countries had refused to allow permission for me to fly my drone ANYWHERE !!.
Reading each of the email responses he showed me (I have copies) I pointed out that I was not a Commercial Photographer, and that all the responses he had were worded such that they ASSUMED that I was going to use the drone for commercial use.
"Not relevant in my case" I told him !, the letters that he had showed me looked as if they thought I was intending to fly over populated areas of each country/island !!.
I pointed out that I was going to use the drone for my own personal use, nothing more simpler.

Rather than "rattle his cage" I agreed that my drone would stay in my cabin and would not be taken ashore at any of our ports of call (which, hand on heart, I did).
He did say to me that he "Cannot not stop me from taking it ashore" but would not be responsible for anything that could happen ashore, and should I have a problem, the cruise line would not want to know!.
Why did this "jobs worth" stick his trunk into my business, (probably thinking he was doing some good !!!)
It would have been nice for him to ask me first what my intentions were in using the drone,
before going off and asking the authorities.
Beside,I had my insurance policy with me, printouts of ALL the no-fly zones of each island, etc, etc, etc
So, be warned cruisers of the world !!
I later found out that certain cruise lines do not even allow drones on board ship, WHY NOT !!.
If anyone has had previous experience of this type of problem on board a cruise, PIPE UP !"!!
I would love to hear your thoughts on the matter !!
P.S. I should add that this cruise line actively has used drones in the past to "promote" itself
and it's Company, AND, have actually allowed a Inspire pilot to take off from the deck of its flag ship, while moving at sea !!.
HOW MANY OF THE PASSENGERS DID YOU ALERT THAT THIS EXCERCISE WAS GOING AHEAD, I WONDER !!!
 
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Hi Guys, I hope I will be welcome on the phantom forum (LOL). I cant contain my excitement as I am about to take delivery of a mavic pro in the next day or so. I live in Torrevieja and have shocked myself today with google with the Spanish no fly zones. My intentions are purely cinematography for my own pleasure and I have no intention of making money from it. I understand the basic rules the seem to be adopted by most countries and the UK. I have studied the map IcarusRPA - SKYDRONEX - DRONEX ® and I was just wondering how the drone pilots here in Spain manage their flight planning and if they have experienced any negative occurrences. I have not found any information about registering a drone under the proposed EASA guidelines. I am guessing these rules have not been written yet. Hense all the confusion.
 
The hobby side has been firmed up and clarified a lot more so though still having ongoing changes.
Airports (technically also includes ctr zones as well) ( Ie the geo warning area)
Height 120m
Line of sight
No night flying
Not over urbanisations
Not over larger groups of people, Ie parades, beaches, parks, stadiums etc
And basically they say you are liable for any damage.

That's the official line though there is a lot of open spaces and not many people are clued up on this.
Just checking to see if anything has changed since this was posted. I plan to go to Spain this summer and I want to take my drone with me but I don't want to get in any trouble.
 
Nothing has changed yet. The new rules (published since one year ago) but not yet endorsed continue to be ready. Tomorrow Tuesday 24th starts a Congress (CivilDron17) in Madrid which will be opened by the Director of AESA (Spanish Aerial Security Agency). I hope that she will give some clues about the date of new regulations.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
 
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Hi there.
I´m going on my annual holiday in July to Gran Alacant, half an hour away from Alicante.
Still waiting for my Mavic Pro, but I´m really excited about getting some amazing shots at the coast of Spain. But the things i read here makes me a bit worried.
I tried opening the link above (IcarusRPA - SKYDRONEX - DRONEX ®) and looking in and around Alicante. What does it mean when the area is yellow?
Coast-wise it goes all the way from Santa Pola and past Alicante. I know beaches are "no-go", and I will respect that when the beach is crowded. I am thinking more about getting shots right before sunset etc.

Hope someone here can answer whether or not its completely forbidden to fly in Gran Alacant.
Thanks.
 
sorry I meant the guardia national - the ones in green who strut and swagger!!!
That's Guardia Civil, and they deal with local / provincial issues. Back in Franco's day though, they were his henchmen to keep the countryside communities in line
 
Hi there.
I´m going on my annual holiday in July to Gran Alacant, half an hour away from Alicante.
Still waiting for my Mavic Pro, but I´m really excited about getting some amazing shots at the coast of Spain. But the things i read here makes me a bit worried.
I tried opening the link above (IcarusRPA - SKYDRONEX - DRONEX ®) and looking in and around Alicante. What does it mean when the area is yellow?
Coast-wise it goes all the way from Santa Pola and past Alicante. I know beaches are "no-go", and I will respect that when the beach is crowded. I am thinking more about getting shots right before sunset etc.

Hope someone here can answer whether or not its completely forbidden to fly in Gran Alacant.
Thanks.

Yes Gran Alacant is a NO FLY ZONE.

Its too close to airport.
Also the NFZ extents to cover quite a large area as well as some special NFZ due to antennas on hills in the area.

I live very close to there. However a few miles away there are plenty of places you can fly.
 
Hello y Hola, I have just purchased my first drone after watching thousands of Mavic videos on YouTube, it should arrive today. Then something told me check the regulations, (should have done before)..
I live in southern catalunya and was hoping to fly my drone around just for recreational use. I read a lot on commercial use. Do I really need to be qualified as a pilot for a drone, are there maps for this area availblr to see if there are any restrictions.

My first post, I'm looking forward to this relationship between me and the Mavic :D
 
Hello y Hola, I have just purchased my first drone after watching thousands of Mavic videos on YouTube, it should arrive today. Then something told me check the regulations, (should have done before)..
I live in southern catalunya and was hoping to fly my drone around just for recreational use. I read a lot on commercial use. Do I really need to be qualified as a pilot for a drone, are there maps for this area availblr to see if there are any restrictions.

My first post, I'm looking forward to this relationship between me and the Mavic :D
Read the manual many times.

The latest iOS and I assum android app has the no fly zones and restricted areas shown in. Click the 3 bars at top right hand side. And the NFz are shown. This is the home page of go app before you enter the control section

Commercial use of drone is forbidden without a license
 
I've read through lots of different rules and regulations of flying a drone (as a hobby). But I would like to ask someone to clarify one thing:
How close can you actually fly a Mavic/Phantom to an airport (Class C or D) in Spain while obviously keeping the normal guidelines (below 400 ft, line of sight, etc.)

Specifically, I would like to fly it around Jerez and Cadiz, however some maps show a ¬5mile nfz around jerez airport while DJI go app only shows ¬1 mile radius. Which should I follow to avoid any trouble?
 
Yes the AESA one is the official source.

HOWEVER the actual aviation maps are the official ones to adhere to.
Where I am on SE coast the NFZ is much further out then the recommendation of AESA.

so for your area, see this.
Screen Shot 2017-04-28 at 15.53.36.png
 
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Yes the AESA one is the official source.

HOWEVER the actual aviation maps are the official ones to adhere to.
Where I am on SE coast the NFZ is much further out then the recommendation of AESA.

so for your area, see this.
View attachment 81228

thanks robinb. So within the blue radius's you are not allowed to fly at all?
 
That is correct, you may also have restrictions on other areas. i.e. LED-72, LED-90C, LER154 etc etc.

You will need to look them up, and see what the restriction is.

Oh and the guardia do know about drone laws, I can vouch for that after having had a visit !
 
Thanks for the info robinb! This is extremely upsetting though... without having a car, makes it virtually impossible to fly a drone anywhere in this area. :(
 
I have the same problem, i have to drive 20 or 30 minutes out of airspace to fly legally.

Your area does seem to contain a lot of NFZ
 

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