Hi all,

I am travelling to South Africa ?? next month and will be taking a selection of drones. As always the Internet has conflicting advice, so I thought I would see if anyone had experience of flying in SA.

Thanks in advance

If you don't get an answer from anyone else then I suggest you reach out to Tom BD Bad who is a long standing member on here. He moved from the UK to SA some time ago and is currently living there so he should know what the up-to-date rules are down there.

I've worked two contracts in SA (I work in executive protection), and from my experience I would say their cops are far too busy to worry about drones! They have their hands full with serious criminals from what I saw. I have a lot of respect for SA cops.(Jo-berg specifically, I didn't get to travel much and it's a big place) They don't get paid much, and it's NOT an easy job.

Don't fly around private property, no where near an airport, and don't try to use one in the national parks / animal sanctuary. In fact, from what I see their rules are much more reasonable and common sense than the EU or US. You can fly any quad up to 7kg/15lbs, as long as you keep it away from people and the places I already mentioned.

Here is a link that explains about it with contact info for Civil Aviation Authority if you want an official answer:
https://dronesgator.com/south-africa-drone-laws/

EDIT: Now you got me thinking about SA and now I am craving a gatsby sandwich.

I travel internationally a fair bit around Asia and Middle East for my line of work but I have never thought of bringing along my gear due to the mixed regulations. But then most of these trips are not more than a couple of weeks.

I have 2 to 3 months of back to back trips lined up towards the end of the year considering how quarantine restrictions ease at the few countries I need to be in.

It drives me crazy missing about half of the flying season here.

If I had a single destination where I was to stay for that entire period then I guess I would bring my gear along.

(18-Oct-2021, 10:18 PM)MrSolo Wrote: I've worked two contracts in SA (I work in executive protection), and from my experience I would say their cops are far too busy to worry about drones! They have their hands full with serious criminals from what I saw. I have a lot of respect for SA cops.(Jo-berg specifically, I didn't get to travel much and it's a big place) They don't get paid much, and it's NOT an easy job.

Don't fly around private property, no where near an airport, and don't try to use one in the national parks / animal sanctuary. In fact, from what I see their rules are much more reasonable and common sense than the EU or US. You can fly any quad up to 7kg/15lbs, as long as you keep it away from people and the places I already mentioned.

Here is a link that explains about it with contact info for Civil Aviation Authority if you want an official answer:
https://dronesgator.com/south-africa-drone-laws/

EDIT: Now you got me thinking about SA and now I am craving a gatsby sandwich.

Thanks Solo, I just seen an article that you couldnt fly above 45m, which wouldn't be great. Ill read the article.

(19-Oct-2021, 12:28 AM)kafie1980 Wrote: I travel internationally a fair bit around Asia and Middle East for my line of work but I have never thought of bringing along my gear due to the mixed regulations. But then most of these trips are not more than a couple of weeks.

I have 2 to 3 months of back to back trips lined up towards the end of the year considering how quarantine restrictions ease at the few countries I need to be in.

It drives me crazy missing about half of the flying season here.

If I had a single destination where I was to stay for that entire period then I guess I would bring my gear along.

I travel a fair bit on holidays and absolutely love SA, in fact I would happily fo live there. Maybe not Jo'burg tho. I always take my drones on holiday, but this will be the 1st time I'm taking an FPV drone, I normally just stick to the Mavic.

I (Touch wood) have had no issues, but then again, I tend to be overly Conservative as not to piss anyone off, always stay away from people and I'm not interested in flying in the cities.

Looks like SA will be ok, I nearly went to Mozambique, crossing the boarder from SA, but then read some serious horror stories about corrupt police confiscating camera equipment and drones, so we decided against it. I know you can find these stories about every country, but wasn't taking the chance.

Thanks all for your replies.

I would think the biggest problem would be how to legally bring lipos on the plane, not how flying over there would be recieved. Has anyone tried travelling with lipos and can chime in with some experience? Maybe not something OP is bothered about but I just got curious

(20-Oct-2021, 11:46 AM)patlo911 Wrote: I would think the biggest problem would be how to legally bring lipos on the plane, not how flying over there would be recieved. Has anyone tried travelling with lipos and can chime in with some experience? Maybe not something OP is bothered about but I just got curious

I have never flown/travelled with Lipo's, only my DJI batteries. I think you have to check the watt hours and previously its been limited to 100WH per person, which isn't a lot of batteries at all.

(22-Oct-2021, 03:43 PM)Nejo_FPV Wrote: I have never flown/travelled with Lipo's, only my DJI batteries. I think you have to check the watt hours and previously its been limited to 100WH per person, which isn't a lot of batteries at all.

That is basically 4 X 6S 1000mAH or 4 X 4S 1550mAH packs at storage voltage. 

Hopefully your goggles are on 18650 Lions and so is your transmitter? Do Lion dells count?

Are they specific about Lipo cells or Lithium cells in general? 

How will one interpret such regulations?

Are you asking about flying within the country of SA or generally flying with drone gear or both? I have a buddy born and living in SA but he doesn't fly drones but I can ask him general questions about the place if you have any. As for flying with drone gear, it's a huge hassle lol. All because of the lipos. I went out of my way to come with a drone kit that uses 1S lipos and charges off USB chargers to avoid the hassle.

(23-Oct-2021, 12:18 PM)kafie1980 Wrote: That is basically 4 X 6S 1000mAH or 4 X 4S 1550mAH packs at storage voltage. 

Hopefully your goggles are on 18650 Lions and so is your transmitter? Do Lion dells count?

Are they specific about Lipo cells or Lithium cells in general? 

How will one interpret such regulations?

I have done a bit of reading and I am travelling with KLM. Basically you can travel with upto 20 batteries, but non can be over 100wh, unless you have prior permission and then not over 160wh.

I will be travelling with a fair amount of technology i.e. camera, action camera, DJI drone, FPV drones so I'm guessing we will see what happens. I will try and limit it as much as I can and just take what I need, rather than what I would normally fly with.

Has anyone travelled to SA recently???? You are required to have a negative covid 19 PCR test, 72 hours before departure but it has to be conducted by a 'certified medical practitioner', but as normal there is no explanation on any government website of what will be accepted.

These PCR tests are just a big con and the companies that are conducting them are just out to make money. Very few in the UK are conducted by a Doctor and home tests are not accepted.

Just wondering if anyone had flown into SA recently that could shed some light on the situation.

Thanks

One other thing to consider isn't just the country that you are travelling to, but the airline you are flying with which may have it's own COVID-19 rules.

A colleague of mine travelled to France last week and the French requirement is to have a negative PCR test result within 24 hours (yes, just 24 hours!) before you arrive in France which he said was stressful to say the least. His flight left at 6pm in the evening and with test facilities only opening at 9am it meant only a 9 hour window to take the test and get the results back before boarding the flight. He did manage to do it but he said it was really tight.

When entering the UK from France the UK no longer require a negative test result to pass through border control if you are double-jabbed, but what he subsequently found out was that he still wouldn't be allowed to board the plane without proof of a negative PCR test in the previous 72 hours. So he took one in France before departing and sure enough he was asked for it before he boarded the plane.

So if in doubt, pay to have a PCR test from a private company to cover yourself because the last thing you want is to be turned away at the boarding gate.

I spent 3 hours with our corporate travel agent working out how I am going to fly to 2 countries and back over a period of 2 months and the requirements/approvals/exemptions for entering each country and PCR tests, self quarantine requirements is mind boggling.

I wish it was as simple as the politicians are saying that double dose vaccination is your ticket to the world. There is so much more to it.

Even entry/quarantine rules vary across Australia states now.

Its a dogs breakfast.

(04-Nov-2021, 02:26 PM)SnowLeopardFPV Wrote: One other thing to consider isn't just the country that you are travelling to, but the airline you are flying with which may have it's own COVID-19 rules.

A colleague of mine travelled to France last week and the French requirement is to have a negative PCR test result within 24 hours (yes, just 24 hours!) before you arrive in France which he said was stressful to say the least. His flight left at 6pm in the evening and with test facilities only opening at 9am it meant only a 9 hour window to take the test and get the results back before boarding the flight. He did manage to do it but he said it was really tight.

When entering the UK from France the UK no longer require a negative test result to pass through border control if you are double-jabbed, but what he subsequently found out was that he still wouldn't be allowed to board the plane without proof of a negative PCR test in the previous 72 hours. So he took one in France before departing and sure enough he was asked for it before he boarded the plane.

So if in doubt, pay to have a PCR test from a private company to cover yourself because the last thing you want is to be turned away at the boarding gate.

24 hours is not a lot at all and we are travelling through France. Thanks for the heads up, I will check it out. Its all a bit money grabby from the various countries and well the UK don't currently have the best relationship with France.

We are paying for a private PCR, it was the medical practitioner part that we are struggling to get any details about.

(04-Nov-2021, 02:37 PM)kafie1980 Wrote: I spent 3 hours with our corporate travel agent working out how I am going to fly to 2 countries and back over a period of 2 months and the requirements/approvals/exemptions for entering each country and PCR tests, self quarantine requirements is mind boggling.

I wish it was as simple as the politicians are saying that double dose vaccination is your ticket to the world. There is so much more to it.

Even entry/quarantine rules vary across Australia states now.

Its a dogs breakfast.

All a way to tax the man/women in the street and pay for COVID. I wonder how many of these companies are ran by 'friends' of politicians. I really need to check out the French angle, as I'm not really wanting a hotel quarantine there thats for sure.