FLY A DRONE IN NAMIBIA | NAMIBIAN DRONE PERMIT

Namibia drone permit

Fly A Drone In Namibia | Namibian Drone Permit

Want to fly a drone in Namibia? Then you are right where you need to be. Last year, Namibia was one of the most favorite destinations for tourists all-around the world for drone permit requests.

The desert of Namibia, it’s oceans of red dunes, the wildlife parade in the Etosha National Park and the ethnic wealth of its inhabitants are just some of its main attractions attracted by all drone operators.

 

Namibia drone permits

Fly a Drone in Namibia – Drone Regulations

(Besides the bureaucratic process, the civil aviation authority recommends to plan your flight sites in advance. This way you will be aware of the rules of the use of an RPA before arriving at your place of interest.

How can I fly my drone in a recreational way?

1. First, apply on time for a permit. This will minimize any disappointments. Unfortunately we cannot make exceptions. We need at least 4 weeks to send your validated information to the authorities and to get an approval from the Namibian authorities. Payment is made once we validate the information. The cost for a recreational permit is $49.99 USD.

Validation time depends on how quick the customer provides the right and complete information to us.

2. Make sure you have insurance for the drone. The copy of the insurance needs to be translated into English. No other languages are allowed. This requirement is a must to apply for a permit.

Currently, we don’t provide this service. For insurance, you can contact www.aon.com.

3. Take in count that there is a fee of $102.00 US- $83 EUR that every drone pilot needs to pay directly to the Namibian authorities. Once your information is validated by our team and the Namibian authorities, we will send you the bank details. All you have to do then, is to pay the corresponding fees.

4. Send an e-mail to support@uavsystemsinternational.com. Provide all required information in order to be validated and to get started with the application process.

For an official request with the Namibian Civil Aviation Authority you must mention information regarding your itinerary in Namibia. Mention the exact dates of your trip, the places where you will stay, the activities you are interested in carrying on and the exact points where you wish to carry out your drone flights. Make sure you will not carry out any flight in any restricted area or distance limit to enjoy your itinerary and drone flights without any complications.

What information do you need to provide on the corresponding forms?

Before you send us your request, please read which packages we offer. We can process just the drone permit, but we can also extend our service arranging your drone insurance and pay the government fee to the government of Namibia.

Read all the information regarding the packages on the next page, and select what’s preferred by you. After you selected your package, fill out the form, and we’ll be able to start the process right away!

Select your Package and send us your information

 

Where you are not allowed to fly your drone in Namibia?

When sending us your drone permit request, you also have to mention all places where you want to fly your drone. This information is required for the Namibian government to process your visa. Note: we cannot start the permit process without this information.

Make sure you select the right public places when sending us your drone permit request.The next places that are NOT allowed for this kind of operations:

All the green areas that appear in Google maps. These areas have been marked completely restricted by the civil aviation authority of Namibia.

Archaeological, National and Entertainment parks: all sites considered natural and cultural heritage must be maintained so it does not affect the local Biodiversity. As in leisure parks such as Skeleton Coast or Long Beach Leisure Park, they have private administrations whose flight permits must be requested personally.

Lodges, hotels and private establishments: entertainment parks are managed by private administrations, so their authorisations cannot depend on civil aviation authority. Any flight carried out in private locations must be requested personally.

Namibia drone maps

Fly a drone for commercial purposes

Professional operations are all drone flights carried out for business purposes. This could be for example for television programs, air mapping, nonprofit organization documentaries, travel companies and advertising of any kind.

Requesting a professional license in Namibia is not an easy task. You not only need an authorization from the civil aviation authority, but you also need the approval of the local administration. The local administration has to be contacted depending on the place where you want to carry out your flight. In case of record in private places and The Namibia Film Commission (NFC).

Do you want to carry out a professional/recreational flight in a national park? Then you need three different authorizations:

-Authorization from the Namibia Civil Aviation Authority.

-Authorization from The Namibia Film Commission (NFC).

– Authorization from The Minister of Environment and Tourism.

Note: Flying your drone recreational in National Parks and submit the footage to websites is considered professional. The Namibian authority will consider these flights as professional operations EVEN if there are no remunerations.

Additional requirements for commercial permits:

1. Make sure you request the commercial permit at least 10 weeks in advance a professional operation.

2. Applying for all these authorizations requires an extensive bureaucratic work completed of at least 12 formats.

3. All licenses requested have an extra charge that must be paid directly to the government by authorization.The charge depends on the type of license requested.

What rules should I follow as a drone operator?

A person operating an RPAS in Namibia shall:

(a) not operate in weather conditions that do not allow unobstructed visual contact to be maintained with the RPAS by other airspace users and by the operator;

(b) not operate in controlled airspace, except by the holder of ROC and as approved by the Director in the operator’s Operations Manual;

(c) not operate within 5 nautical miles of any restricted area;

(d) not fly over an assembly of people;

(e) not operate closer than the 50 meters to any person or property (vehicles, vessels or structures), roads that is not under the control of the person operating the aircraft;

(f) not use a public road as a place of landing or take-off of an RPA, except when involved in civil defense or law-enforcement operations, with a proper authorization, and provided that at all times reasonable care is taken to ensure the safety of persons and property on the ground;

(g) not operate in a negligent or reckless manner so as to endanger the safety of any person, property or other aircraft in the air or on the ground;

(h) no object or substance shall be released, dispensed, dropped, delivered or deployed from a RPAS except by the holder of an ROC and as approved by the Director in the operators ‘Operations Manual

(i) not operate within 5 nautical miles of gazette National Parks or Game Reserves unless approved for the specific flight or series of flights by the Director and the relevant national agency;

(j) not operate the RPA outside visual line-of-sight unless specifically approved by the Director;

(k) report any accidents, incidents or airspace violations without unreasonable delay to the Director and in any case not later than 72 hours after the occurrence;

(l) not carry dangerous goods as cargo, except by the Holder of an ROC and as approved by the Director in the operation manual.

(m) not operate across the territory of another State, without special authorization issued by the Director and by the appropriate authorities of the other State.