Seychelles Drone Laws

We have first flown a drone on Seychelles back in 2011, when drones have been hardly known and we were probably the only ones ever thinking about carrying a heavy Octocopter with us to Seychelles.
Since then times have changed. With the advancement of drones (or unmanned aerial vehicle - UAV as they are legally called), things have changed big time. Drones fit into every backpack and more and more people bring their drones with them on vacation, using the beautiful scenery of Seychelles to take great aerial images and videos.
However, the mass-phenomenon drone is starting to become an issue in most countries, so regulations are put in place to ensure the safety and comfort of people and property.
Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority (SCAA) has also enacted drone laws. Here is AN EXCPERT of the rules - the full rules can be read on the page of SCAA (in the footer under regulatory - Safety Directives for Unmanned Aircraft) :

  1. You must not operate a drone without permission of SCAA if you obtained permission, you have to follow these guidelines:
  2. Direct, unaided visual contanct to the drone has to be maintained during every flight
  3. Do not fly your drone within 15km of an airport unless the SCAA and/or Air Traffic Control gives you permission (note that Seychelles islands are small, and there are two airports - one on Mahe and one on Praslin)
  4. Do not fly your drone within 5km of a heliport/helipad unless the SCAA and/or Air Traffic Control gives you permission (note that many small islands have heliports/helipads)
  5. Stay 50m away from people during flight
  6. Do not fly within 150m of a private residence without written permission of the owner.
  7. ...

You can request permission at:

Chief Executive Officer
Seychelles Civil Aviation Authority
P.O Box 181
Mahe
Seychelles


A PERSONAL NOTE: it is our duty as drone operators to make sure we don´t disturb other people - no tourists, and definitely no locals - if we don´t want that drones will be prohibited in general. Imagine you living in an area popular with tourists and drones start every minute for the (honestly rather selfish) joy of the operator. So go to remote places if you want to fly your drone and obey to the rules of every countries authorities.