You need to register if taking pictures and also there is an additional step if you are flying over the water and beaches. I am travelling from Canada and went through the whole process recently. Your drone needs to be registered in the EU and I am not sure with Brexit where you stand. I registered through Germany as was easier to convert to English than Portugal. Next you have to apply for an account with the e-AAN - Login. . Then you will need to register for your flights and any flights over the water, beaches etc have to be approved through the appropriate maritime authority, but only after the AAN approves and you write and include the approval to [email protected]. . We are not there until March 10, but I applied saying I would be there Mid February to ensure I got the approvals in time. It was important for me to learn that if you are taking pictures you need to register. There was no cost to do this. The only cost I had was getting my EU license, EU registration and my liability insurance . Any questions feel free to reach out. I struggled to get it done and the information is tedious to go through
Flying in Madeira?
- Thread starter Jin03
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- drone rules madeira
Does anyone have experience getting the drone registered coming from the USA ( Non-Eu Country) ?
I registered in Germany , was easier to have my browser translate to English and much easier procedure
How was your trip?
Did you get all your approvals, first with e-AAN and then with the local authorities in Madeira?
Did you fly only along the coast or in the mountains, where there are some ecological and national parks?
I'm looking at this map, which contains some links to emails for the yellow zones on Madeira.
We had a great trip. Most of my flying that I was able to get done was along the coast. The weather didn’t always cooperate, during the time. We were here. There was a fair bit of wind, which restricted my ability and also other responsibilities I had to attend to. I was happy that I had all my approvals. I was familiar with the areas that I couldn’t fly mainly the airport and pico Aereiro, where there is a military installation and radar station. The biggest determine factor was weather
Do you mean Pico do Aereiro, a mountain peak north of Funchal?
I see that it has a small town Curral das Freiras to the SW and an observatory to the SE.
That's too bad if you can't fly up there, looks spectacular.
Did you contact the Madeira agencies separately from AAN?
Hello, how long did it take to get approval for your flights? I submitted them some 10-14 days ago. Three of them were approved (status deferred) immediately, the rest is still in status Submitted. We are going to Madeira in 10 days so I'm getting a bit worried. Some of the flights will still need approval from maritime authority and there is not so much time remaining. Also, were you checked or contacted by any authority while being on Madeira?
I just returned. As long as you arent flying over people, being annoying, you are good. I saw three police offcers the entire time I was in Portugal. They did not care at all.
Man the place I want to fly is out on the NE of the island, just north of the airport.
It's like a long, thin peninsula or an archipelago, extending eastwards. You have to hike the last 3-4 kilometers and you see a lot of jagged cliffs over the water and faraglioni or rocks jutting out of the water.
But since it's so close to the airport, probably one of the approaches to the airport, it's a NFZ until you get out towards the very tip. You have to hike about 3 kilometers from the closest parking.
I suppose you're still suppose to submit applications for flight permissions at each place you want to fly and there may also be some Madeira agencies you have to also get permission from.
It's like a long, thin peninsula or an archipelago, extending eastwards. You have to hike the last 3-4 kilometers and you see a lot of jagged cliffs over the water and faraglioni or rocks jutting out of the water.
But since it's so close to the airport, probably one of the approaches to the airport, it's a NFZ until you get out towards the very tip. You have to hike about 3 kilometers from the closest parking.
I suppose you're still suppose to submit applications for flight permissions at each place you want to fly and there may also be some Madeira agencies you have to also get permission from.
I just returned and as long as you are not flying above people, annoying others, and away from the airport, miliatray bases,( the obvious) you are good.
An update on drone flying in Madeira.
I did try to do it by the book and get all the needed authorizations. Some of the requirements are already explained earlier in this thread so I'm not repeating those (registration, AAN, capitania, voanaboa etc). But there are some recent updates:
- About AAN application, they seem start to handle the requests 10 days before the planned flight.
- the capitania will respond quickly, normally within a day or so. I got some responses within an hour!
Getting authorization from IFCN is very tricky and I failed to get the authorization because I couldn't figure out how to fill in the application. Firstly, they just launched a portal called 'Simplifica'. The aim of that portal is "facilitating and reducing bureaucracy" as they stated. It is used now to make a payment for (some of) the hikes but also for dozens of other purposes. One of them is to apply to fly drones in national parks. They suggest that the application should be done 10 weekdays before the flying. I got info on this portal only one week before my trip so that was one reason I failed to make a proper application. Nevertheless, I made an attempt to make an application just to see what kind of process that is (and keeping my fingers crossed that they would still handle the application) but IMHO it is impossible to fill the application properly. The main problem is that there is no clear way to map your flight plan (in AAN) to the restricted/protected areas as defined by IFCN. The restricted areas listed in Simplifica does not cover all NFZ depicted in voanaboa app. So, it is impossible to apply to authorization for a specific area if it is not listed in the tool.
There are also some poor design issues in Simplifica. For instance, the portal asks you give the radius of your flight plan but there is no field to input the central point where the radius is related to! I asked for specific instructions from IFCN, but I never got a response. In the end, I managed to make one application. In a couple of days, I got a response that the application was rejected because I sent it too late. However, I eventually did get the authorization but only when the planned flight dates were passed! So, if you want to fly in natural parks (most of Madeira is a natural park), start applying at least 2 weeks before your planned flights. Basically, you should apply at the same time with AAN and IFCN.
It would be fantastic if you could get the authorization by just filling one application instead of applying to 2-3 times with different bodies, applications and portals.
During my visit, I flew my drone according to my flight plans in those areas I was authorized to. Because lacking the IFCN authorizations, I flew only outside the NFZ along the coastlines. Which was fine because that was my intent in the first place. High winds prevented me from flying a couple of times but I had backup dates in my flight plans that worked fine. I saw a few drones here and there, didn't ask if they were authorized or not. Most likely not, based on the slightly irresponsible way they flew their drones.
I did try to do it by the book and get all the needed authorizations. Some of the requirements are already explained earlier in this thread so I'm not repeating those (registration, AAN, capitania, voanaboa etc). But there are some recent updates:
- About AAN application, they seem start to handle the requests 10 days before the planned flight.
- the capitania will respond quickly, normally within a day or so. I got some responses within an hour!
Getting authorization from IFCN is very tricky and I failed to get the authorization because I couldn't figure out how to fill in the application. Firstly, they just launched a portal called 'Simplifica'. The aim of that portal is "facilitating and reducing bureaucracy" as they stated. It is used now to make a payment for (some of) the hikes but also for dozens of other purposes. One of them is to apply to fly drones in national parks. They suggest that the application should be done 10 weekdays before the flying. I got info on this portal only one week before my trip so that was one reason I failed to make a proper application. Nevertheless, I made an attempt to make an application just to see what kind of process that is (and keeping my fingers crossed that they would still handle the application) but IMHO it is impossible to fill the application properly. The main problem is that there is no clear way to map your flight plan (in AAN) to the restricted/protected areas as defined by IFCN. The restricted areas listed in Simplifica does not cover all NFZ depicted in voanaboa app. So, it is impossible to apply to authorization for a specific area if it is not listed in the tool.
There are also some poor design issues in Simplifica. For instance, the portal asks you give the radius of your flight plan but there is no field to input the central point where the radius is related to! I asked for specific instructions from IFCN, but I never got a response. In the end, I managed to make one application. In a couple of days, I got a response that the application was rejected because I sent it too late. However, I eventually did get the authorization but only when the planned flight dates were passed! So, if you want to fly in natural parks (most of Madeira is a natural park), start applying at least 2 weeks before your planned flights. Basically, you should apply at the same time with AAN and IFCN.
It would be fantastic if you could get the authorization by just filling one application instead of applying to 2-3 times with different bodies, applications and portals.
During my visit, I flew my drone according to my flight plans in those areas I was authorized to. Because lacking the IFCN authorizations, I flew only outside the NFZ along the coastlines. Which was fine because that was my intent in the first place. High winds prevented me from flying a couple of times but I had backup dates in my flight plans that worked fine. I saw a few drones here and there, didn't ask if they were authorized or not. Most likely not, based on the slightly irresponsible way they flew their drones.
I contacted IFCN last year and this was part of their reply (translated in Google):
The form they sent me is generic, doesn't really refer to drone flights.
They made no reference to this Simplifica sight, though I exchanged the emails with them back in April 2024.
One of the places I want to fly is Ponta da Sao Laurenco, which is that strip jutting out on the NE corner of the island.
PR 8 - Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço - Visit Madeira | Madeira Islands Tourism Board official website
Vereda da Ponta de São Lourenço - This trail will take you to discover the eastern tip of the island, with panoramic views over the north and south sides.
visitmadeira.com
But it's near the flight path of the airport though the ANAC map seems to indicate that it's possible to request authorization.
My other issue is that currently I still have the Mavic 2 Pro so I'm curious if the ANAC will strictly enforce the A1, A2, A3 drone categories.
I sent the form first but they replied that they have taken Simplifica tool in use. That was in Nov '24.
You can make a request to fly in Ponta de Sao Laurenco. Just stay outside the airport flight path.
When you make the request to ANAC, you have to specify your drone make and model.
Did any of you have tips on how to apply through simplifica? I got some of the approvals from AAN and wanna proceed with IFCN (e.g. Miradouro da Terra Grande) yet I'm unsure how to fill the **** form in simplifica app 
the doubts I have relate to:
- the importance or differences between "Tipo de visita"
- any tips on what to put into "Objetivos do voo" (Rede Natura 2000 was the one I found as the best match with 'PTMAD0010 RIBEIRA BRAVA')
- and the most tricky part - schedule, as in Madeira one never know what the weather will be and plans change, do you request e.g. 5 full days in multiple spots (so 5 requests per place) to cover all the possible schedules, or it's getting rejected
the doubts I have relate to:
- the importance or differences between "Tipo de visita"
- any tips on what to put into "Objetivos do voo" (Rede Natura 2000 was the one I found as the best match with 'PTMAD0010 RIBEIRA BRAVA')
- and the most tricky part - schedule, as in Madeira one never know what the weather will be and plans change, do you request e.g. 5 full days in multiple spots (so 5 requests per place) to cover all the possible schedules, or it's getting rejected
- for the Tipo de visita, I used "Documentario". Because my purpose was to make "documents" at least for myself
- I struggled to find any accurate match between the area selections in Simplifica and my planned flight areas. Only Ponta de Sao Lorenco was obvious, others not so much. Eventually, I did not have time to fill all Simplifica requests (I was already in location) so I scrapped my plans to fly over the natural parks. I flew only over the coastlines (with AAN and maritime approvals) where IFCN approval was not needed
- how Simplifica is designed, I think you might need to make your requests for each day and for each spot. However, I'm not sure.
Good luck with the form filling! Sorry I couldn't help more.
Thanks mate! Well... in such a case, I'll go ahead and make first requests for the most probable dates and then try doing so for all the rest and see what they'll say xD I still have some time, still waiting for like a 2 dozens of approvals from AAN so only a few spots can cover already, but anyway, it's a good starting point ^^- for the Tipo de visita, I used "Documentario". Because my purpose was to make "documents" at least for myself
- I struggled to find any accurate match between the area selections in Simplifica and my planned flight areas. Only Ponta de Sao Lorenco was obvious, others not so much. Eventually, I did not have time to fill all Simplifica requests (I was already in location) so I scrapped my plans to fly over the natural parks. I flew only over the coastlines (with AAN and maritime approvals) where IFCN approval was not needed
- how Simplifica is designed, I think you might need to make your requests for each day and for each spot. However, I'm not sure.
Good luck with the form filling! Sorry I couldn't help more.
In E-AAN, I put in ranges of dates and hours, said it depends on the weather, which it did.
So this Simplifica doesn't have some free text field for you to write something like that?
So this Simplifica doesn't have some free text field for you to write something like that?
no. in AAN I've also put range of dates, yet Simplifica asks for a specific start and end of the flight, which... in these weather circumstances is rather impossible to determine xD
- for the Tipo de visita, I used "Documentario". Because my purpose was to make "documents" at least for myself
- I struggled to find any accurate match between the area selections in Simplifica and my planned flight areas. Only Ponta de Sao Lorenco was obvious, others not so much. Eventually, I did not have time to fill all Simplifica requests (I was already in location) so I scrapped my plans to fly over the natural parks. I flew only over the coastlines (with AAN and maritime approvals) where IFCN approval was not needed
- how Simplifica is designed, I think you might need to make your requests for each day and for each spot. However, I'm not sure.
Good luck with the form filling! Sorry I couldn't help more.
Did you fly in other parts of Portugal?
Did you get those requests approved and did anyone question you whether you had approvals when you were flying your drone?
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