collins
Well-Known Member
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- Apr 30, 2017
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Well, I will tell you my experience. I have lived in Thailand for over 20 years but have only been flying a Mavic for the past six months. I have 5 friends (1 westerner and 4 Thais) with drones (total 2x Phantom and 4x Mavic). I have gone through the airports (Suvarnabhumi, Don Muang, Phuket, Trang) at least a dozen times and have also flown in visits to China, Indonesia, Bali, Vietnam and Myanmar. In fact I came through Don Muang yesterday having been droning in Rhakine State. I have not encountered any problems. Often when travelling in Thailand I take my drone entirely in hand luggage. The X ray people have inspected it on a couple of occasions but that is about it (once they told me to take the battery out of the actual Mavic and keep it separate but that is standard procedure.) Generally speaking, (especially when travelling elsewhere in Asia) I keep my Mavic in checked luggage and my batteries in hand luggage.
Having said all that, Laws in Asia are extremely flexible (deliberately so) so you always run the potential risk going through airports that a customs official doesnt like the look of you or your Mavic and might confiscate it. I havent heard of it happening in Thailand yet but I have heard of it happening in Danang, Vietnam.
As far as permits go for Thailand. If you read the rules and the Laws you may well conclude that you shouldnt bring in a drone as a tourist. The Ministry of Transport latest regulations state that any drone with a camera needs a permit and getting a permit and using a drone (without a work permit) would be against the Labor Laws (which is a serious offense). I would hazard a guess that if you produced a drone permit to a local policeman as a foreigner he would immediately ask to see your work permit. The reality is that virtually everyone (whether tourist, western resident or local Thai) who isnt using a drone for commercial purposes doesnt have a permit and hasnt applied. Certainly I havent nor have any of my friends. I know of one westerner with a permit but he is using his drone for commercial real estate photography.
I actually looked into acquiring a permit on the basis that at some point I might do some commercial work with a drone (I already have a work permit). But it is quite a difficult procedure and drone insurance is quite a lot of hassle to get in Thailand unless you are a juristic person. (Essentially I would need to set up a company for the purpose.) I guess if you are a tourist it is possible that you already have insurance with worldwide coverage which would already qualify you there.
To the best of my knowledge you could not be prosecuted in Thailand for not having a permit as this would require an amendment to the 2015 Act. You could possibly be fined but I doubt any fine would exceed US$30 (Bt1,000). The chances are any run in with the police could get your prosecuted for breaking the Law though. If you read the article in the Bangkok Post and posted above there is a lot of talk of the need for permission to fly a drone. This refers to the existing Law that states that if you fly over private property you need permission from the property owner (it has nothing to do with the need for a permit.)
If you are a tourist, the 100% risk free approach is not to bring a drone to Thailand (but then again the 100% risk free approach to avoiding a crash is not flying your drone at all.) I certainly dont see any advantage to gaining a permit for a tourist and certain legal disadvantages in that it enshrines your use within the legal system. The permit system is there essentially for regulation of commercial operation of drones as, as far as I can tell, is the insurance system. You have to wonder out of the thousands of tourists who fly drones in Thailand every year, how many have a permit - my guess is that if you stated the number as a percentage of the total and rounded it up to the nearest whole number - that number would be zero. Of course, I cant speak for tourists who have applied and received a permit because I havent come across one.
