What’s the deal with flying above / near ports? There’s one near me that would have some great views near sunset so I’m tempted to try it out. Flying a mini 4 pro, so I think it would be ok? There’s suitable TOAL areas nearby.
Small drones and model aircraft below 250g
You can fly small drones and model aircraft that are lighter than 250g at residential, recreational, commercial and industrial sites.
Industrial sites include:
- factories
- docks
- rail and transport hubs
If there are no airspace restrictions then enjoy your flight 
Thanks. I wondered if it would be slightly different as a port might count as critical infrastructure? There is a powerstation nearby, which is marked as critical infrastructure on drone scene, but won’t be going near that.
Indeed… The only commercial Port covered under legislation to my knowledge is Dover.
The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Port of Dover) Regulations 2019
They are classed predominately as significant, but as per my above Dover has a ’ critical ’ status to it.
I regularly fly Drax and the Port of Goole , the port security are not usually that happy, but hey, stand your ground
As above if theres no restrictions for your class of drone go for it. Most of the time unless you make yourself known on purpose (auditors) they wont even notice you flying or care if they do notice.
Friendliest port Ive been to was Hollyhead, after a chat with security that aproached me I realised technically I took off from their land but they told me I could carry on they just wanted to know why they saw someone standing about on their camera.
I may have also bribed a security guard with a bag of fruit pastilles to let me take off just past the gate of a very small less used port, the stuff I wanted to see was over and behind bushes so I wouldnt have seen the drone at that height otherwise.
I’ve only once flown over Cardiff Docks, or the sealock entrance to be precise. My drone was brought down almost immediately by a mob of seagulls and lost at sea, but I could not say if the seagulls were in the employment of the port authority or just a bunch of dicks…
Cardiff is a ‘Freeport’, which means that the port area is surrounded by a high fence and only accessible through security gates; you have to have legitimate reason to be allowed in. But there is publicly accessible land close enough to the two working docks to allow overflying within VLOS, and older docks such as the Roath Basin, which can be accessed by vessels that have entered the main docks area; this is used for warship courtesy visits and the like, and the old Bute East Dock which is no longer accessible from the sea in any way, and is mostly decorative nowadays… The north end of this cannot be flown as it comes within Cardiff Prison FRZ.
I imagine Cardiff is fairly typical in this respect; one can certainly overfly most of Barry and Swansea Docks from outside the fenced off perimeters. Newport may be a bit more difficult for the far end ‘corner’ of the Alexandra Dock, but this is prolly flyable from the Wales Coast Path on the opposite bank of the River Ebbw, along with the lock entrance. Beware power lines, though!
I’m afraid Cardiff doesn’t have Freeport status.
Whilst they might not have an FRZ or similar, a number of ports will have drone policies, particularly if they have critical infrastructure or other such sensitive areas that they don’t want every man and his dog overflying with a drone.
One port I know if is actively trying to apply for a FRZ over their area of jurisdiction. Time will tell if this is successful.
How they enforce their policies in the meantime, and what they’re able to do if you’re caught is another topic altogether…
If they are not covered by an official FRZ then the only thing they can enforce is banning TOAL from their own property. If you do happen to use their land and you are asked to leave the politely agree and pack up your kit, simples.
ps, don’t be a dick and park beside the security office, like I used to do.
