🖐 In this blog post we are going to look at all the African countries that simply forbid you from flying a drone above their territories. A number of reasons can trigger institutions and local government organisations. We will aim to give some context on why this has been set as some reasons can be quite surprising. Give a 👍 at the end of this post if you enjoyed it & feel free to comment your experience or any updates in our Drone Forums. Keep in mind that the content below is updated to the best of our ability & does not replace official sources & your own research.
Before digging into the subject, it is important to note that almost all African countries will have some kind of restriction or limitation in place. These can appear in a form or registration or permit application. Additionally some countries will make a clear difference between recreational and commercial uses, sometimes allowing one but not the other.
During our research, we found out that the African countries that have drone bans usually have one or more of the following motivations:
Precaution measure: several African countries do not have clear rules about what can be done with a drone. To avoid troubles, they've decided to prevent the risk by simply banning the technology until proper legislation is in place.
Control tool: a few countries are rules ferociously and any sort of media or communication mean will remain forbidden into the regime is in place.
Cultural backgrounds: several African communities and beliefs do not work well with a flying technology capable of taking aerial content without owners' consent.
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Algeria, Egypt, Lybia and Tunisia are the 4 countries with a total drone ban in place for all types of use (including commercial).
Algeria is the first of our countries' drone ban list but is not alone in this region of the world. North Africa or Maghreb is infamous for its drone hospitality with almost all its neighbouring countries having the same approach to drones.
Drone ban in place since: 27.06.1998
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
Egypt being victim of several terrorist attacks, the country has decided to close its airspace to recreational drone pilots. If you're craving to fly a drone in Egypt, you can hire one if you don't mind spending $500 / day. Note that this will not give a right to fly above the pyramids.
Drone ban in place since: 01.11.2012
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
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Libya formerly forbids any type of drones uses over its territory. You will find this information first if heading to the Libyan Civil Aviation website demonstrating a strong commitment to keep its skies' drone free.
Drone ban in place since: unknown
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
Tunisia's culture isn't favourable to drone technology. Taking someone's picture without consent can be considered as stealing. There is hope for it to become the first North African country to welcome drones as it has a permit process in place, we just need them to answer..
Drone ban in place since: 06.05.1995
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
On a less restrictive approach, Morocco and Madagascar have total recreational drone bans as this technology is simply not considered as a toy in these countries.
The island of Madagascar has forbidden drones unless a permit has been issued. Unfortunately, no permit requests have been known to be successful until now (no response from local aviation authorities). Interestingly enough, the country allows recreational indoor flights as long as you have the owner's consent.
Drone ban in place since: 16.03.2015
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
Morocco was the first drone ban country we looked at and still is today. This said, it is one one of the best organised ones with collection depots at most airports (with storage fees) for you to collect your drone upon departure of the country. As for cultural context, alike Tunisia, in Morocco, taking a picture without consent is considered as stealing a person's soul. Always ask the locals before taking a picture of them.
Drone ban in place since: unknown
Drone ban effective until: undisclosed
On the other end, some African countries are leading the way by implementing strong drone laws such as Rwanda, Namibia and South Africa. Although drone laws are simply non existent in a lot of African countries, on a world scale, only a relatively small group of countries ban the use of drones completely (21).
We hope you found this information useful and that it will allow you to prepare your trip to Africa a little more safely. Note that this post only refers countries with total bans, many countries allowing drone uses will have restricted airspace and forbidden drone zones.
✅ Please leave a comment when you receive news and/or gain experience with your drone in a country so we can update information for others in turn. #africa #african #forbidden #illegal #ban #banned #drone #countries #country #restricted #zone
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Disclaimer: Although great care has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information researched, we take no responsibility for any loss, harm or damage caused as a direct or indirect consequence of relying on this information. It is your responsibility to seek advice from qualified local & relevant authorities for needed information about local drone regulations.
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