Anyone familiar with drone rules in Dubai?

[PawelS]

Im going to fly via Dubai to Manila,Phillipines but with few days stop in Dubai. I dont want to fly with my mavic in Dubai, just in Philipines.
As far as I understood, it shouldnt be a problem, I need to be patient and communicate it clearly to Customs.

Two questions:
1. Did you apply for GCAA ? Or its not needed and you just need to pass Customs and it will be ok?

2. Should I take batteries with me in LIPO Safe (is it ok with Xray?) or it should be in registered baggage?

 

[axchino]

I went to Dubai in September last year, took my Phantom 2 in my hand luggage. Once I get to Dubai they X-rayed everyone's hand luggage just after passport control. They seen I had a drone and all they wanted to do was take the serial number. I explained I wasn't going to fly it in Dubai, it was for my second destination in Maldives.

They then took me and my wife to the customs office and I had a 20 minute wait. They were actually really present people and we were talking about what we had planned on our trip etc. and kept apologising for the wait, you hear bad story's of Dubai's customs/police officials, but they we're really nice.

Rules might of changed completely now though.

Hello there,

Which airline did you fly? I will be flying Emirates Airlines and the website says that Drones are not allowed in cabin baggage, which means that I will need to check the drone into checked baggage, while carrying my three Li-Po batteries on the flight. Here is the link below.

What is the policy for transporting Dangerous Goods? | Baggage | FAQs | Emirates

If you did fly Emirates to Maldives, like how I plan to do, through Dubai, how did you pack your MAVIC?

Thank you for your time.

Please advise.

 

[malcolmhire]

Hello there,

Which airline did you fly? I will be flying Emirates Airlines and the website says that Drones are not allowed in cabin baggage, which means that I will need to check the drone into checked baggage, while carrying my three Li-Po batteries on the flight. Here is the link below.

What is the policy for transporting Dangerous Goods? | Baggage | FAQs | Emirates

If you did fly Emirates to Maldives, like how I plan to do, through Dubai, how did you pack your MAVIC?

Thank you for your time.

Please advise.

I didn't have a Mavic at the time, I took my Phantom 2. I flew to Dubai and the Maldives both with Emirates, that was back in 2015 though, there was no Emirates drone rules at the time. The rules look pretty simple to me, put the Mavic in your checked in baggage and put the batteries in your cabin baggage.

In reality though, the only time you get your cabin baggage checked is at security and their not going to know all the different rules for each airline unless it's an adopted rule for them all. So I imagine you could easily take your Mavic on board without any issues. I took my P2 on board back in September 2015 and there was no issues, it even got to fly in Business Class as there was no room left in standard, haha.

 

[Boi222]

Hello there,

Which airline did you fly? I will be flying Emirates Airlines and the website says that Drones are not allowed in cabin baggage, which means that I will need to check the drone into checked baggage, while carrying my three Li-Po batteries on the flight. Here is the link below.

What is the policy for transporting Dangerous Goods? | Baggage | FAQs | Emirates

If you did fly Emirates to Maldives, like how I plan to do, through Dubai, how did you pack your MAVIC?

Thank you for your time.

Please advise.

You won't have any issues, i flew emirates and stayed in Dubai for a few days then went to Maldives... even bought a mavic battery in Dubai. Remove the propellers from.the drone and just pack in your backpack, I didn't even have to take it out from my backpack once...

Heads up though, a lot of hotels in Maldives do not allow drones. I was only able to use in the private island I book for lunch, on the property I had to sneak and get yelled at

 

[axchino]

I didn't have a Mavic at the time, I took my Phantom 2. I flew to Dubai and the Maldives both with Emirates, that was back in 2015 though, there was no Emirates drone rules at the time. The rules look pretty simple to me, put the Mavic in your checked in baggage and put the batteries in your cabin baggage.

In reality though, the only time you get your cabin baggage checked is at security and their not going to know all the different rules for each airline unless it's an adopted rule for them all. So I imagine you could easily take your Mavic on board without any issues. I took my P2 on board back in September 2015 and there was no issues, it even got to fly in Business Class as there was no room left in standard, haha.

Thank you for sharing your experience. I am a U.S. service member with TSA Pre-check so I think I shouldn't have a problem going through with the drone. I'm also printing some paperwork regarding the FAA rules and regulations regarding batteries just to back up my claim. I think I will be as humble and patient as possible but, I will refuse them for confiscating any of my belongings without speaking to a supervisor. I'll be taking my propellers and LiPo batteries off, while also securing the terminals to ensure ULTIMATE SAFETY, as these batteries are quite safe already. In addition I will be drawing the power of the batteries down to about 30% to ensure that I do not have any hassle. I will post my experience throughout each airport and checkpoint when I return home in 1 week.

Thank you for your time!

 

[axchino]

You won't have any issues, i flew emirates and stayed in Dubai for a few days then went to Maldives... even bought a mavic battery in Dubai. Remove the propellers from.the drone and just pack in your backpack, I didn't even have to take it out from my backpack once...

Heads up though, a lot of hotels in Maldives do not allow drones. I was only able to use in the private island I book for lunch, on the property I had to sneak and get yelled at

I really appreciate your time and response! Thank you for enlightening me regarding your experience. I will do the same. I will only be staying in Dubai for one night on my way back. I doubt I will be flying it in Dubai at all, mostly in the Maldives. I will be staying at ClubMed Kani, I hope they don't have a policy against drones there, as I was not able to find anything online. My only question is: when you said you removed the propellers from your drone and put it in your backpack, did you check the MAVIC in a checked bag, or did you also carry it on the flight?

Thanks again!

 

[Boi222]

I really appreciate your time and response! Thank you for enlightening me regarding your experience. I will do the same. I will only be staying in Dubai for one night on my way back. I doubt I will be flying it in Dubai at all, mostly in the Maldives. I will be staying at ClubMed Kani, I hope they don't have a policy against drones there, as I was not able to find anything online. My only question is: when you said you removed the propellers from your drone and put it in your backpack, did you check the MAVIC in a checked bag, or did you also carry it on the flight?

Thanks again!

Everything was in my backpack just taken apart that I brought on the plane.

I stayed at ananatara and gili... ananatara didn't have anything online about drones but after my first flight, security told me no drones. They did wait till i finish and landed before telling me.

As for even attempting to fly in Dubai, I wouldn't risk it. The rules and regulations are too confusing and not worth the risk of being hassled by the police in a foreign country.

 

[axchino]

Everything was in my backpack just taken apart that I brought on the plane.

I stayed at ananatara and gili... ananatara didn't have anything online about drones but after my first flight, security told me no drones. They did wait till i finish and landed before telling me.

As for even attempting to fly in Dubai, I wouldn't risk it. The rules and regulations are too confusing and not worth the risk of being hassled by the police in a foreign country.

Thank for the clarification. I will definitely not be flying it in Dubai. haha ;D much appreciated.

 

[Foxx308]

I didn't have a Mavic at the time, I took my Phantom 2. I flew to Dubai and the Maldives both with Emirates, that was back in 2015 though, there was no Emirates drone rules at the time. The rules look pretty simple to me, put the Mavic in your checked in baggage and put the batteries in your cabin baggage.

In reality though, the only time you get your cabin baggage checked is at security and their not going to know all the different rules for each airline unless it's an adopted rule for them all. So I imagine you could easily take your Mavic on board without any issues. I took my P2 on board back in September 2015 and there was no issues, it even got to fly in Business Class as there was no room left in standard, haha.

I just arrived in UAE, I packed my Mavic and batteries in the and check my baggage at check in and arrived safely with no issues. Now I'm trying to get the Dubai rules on flying.