Currently on holiday in Madeira. Brought my DJI Mini 3 Pro with me. Such a beautiful island. Recommend it to anyone, especially if you like walking. Hope you enjoy. I was especially chuffed with my first effort filming a surfer.
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Surfer clip is excellent quality
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I am heading to South East Madeira beginning of December, cannot wait to fly there with my Mini 2. Did you get all relevant permissions from the Portuguese Air Authority and Coast Guard or did you just go and fly?
Didn’t realise I was supposed to get permission from anyone. Was under the impression that drones under 250g could be flown without any kind of license. So the answer is I just went ahead and flew. Stayed away from people on the whole, and try not to be annoying. So far I’ve had no issues.
So many stunning views that you’re spoiled for choice here in terms of things to photograph. Hope you enjoy.
Out of curiosity what gave you that idea
- I also sneak flights in abroad
Well done. I’ve been flying for some years and my efforts aren’t as good as yours so well done. Inspiring!
Just had a little google of the laws about flying drones in Madeira / Portugal. Pretty sure I’ve broken most of them 
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Thank you!
Thank you. Appreciated!
Yeah, Portugal seems to be stricter than most requiring coast guard permission if flying over beaches and coastline, air space permission to fly, an Op and Flyer ID, also what path, route or pattern you wish to take. Id love to just go fly but wont risk it, my job wont allow law breaking, including speeding or parking tickets.
I’ve applied for permissions from the relevant authorities, just waiting for clearance. Been to Madeira before, it is gorgeous scenery, cant wait to get aerial shots.
How did this end up working out for you?
I’m heading to Madeira in a few weeks and would like to take my drone. I’m seeing clips all the time from others, but no idea if they are just winging it or have actually made sure they are all good for them to fly.
I’m flying a Mini 3 Pro.
Hi,
Great question, with two answers. Firstly, you could, like a few pilots, just wing it and fly, regardless of no fly zones, permits, etc etc. Or . . .
What I do, and believe is the right thing to do, is respect the laws of other countries. We expect visitors to obey and respect ours, so why do we ignore theirs?
I have an operator ID that is valid for Portugal, since Madeira comes under Portuguese Authority. I got this by applying and passing the tests in Ireland which is part of the EU. You could try other countries such as France, other members may have recommendations, but Ireland worked for me. Once you have obtained the Op ID, you need to carry the ID with you as well as having the ID label on the drone.
Next, you need to contact two authorities. One is the Autoridade Aeronutica Nacional, Portuguese Aviation Authority for Aerial Surveys, and the Madeira Harbour or Port Captain if you wish to fly over coast, sea and beaches.
There is a lot to do, from putting batteries in protective bags in carry on for flying to and from, they’re not allowed in the hold, to registering with e-aan. I would suggest reading advice from other members
Googling advice:
And so on. Or if you prefer, I can guide you through it all. The Drone Code is similar to the UK, and I have never been approached by authorities whilst in Portugal. I have never flown in Madeira because I have always stayed in the South East of the island which is a no fly zone due to the airport. You can fly legally in the North and West. UK drone maps won’t identify the zones, so here is a screenshot
Please feel free to contact me or any other member for anything you need. As you’ll read, a lot of members just don’t bother to follow the law there, but do so in the UK, because they can’t be bothered. I think it out of respect to do so. We would expect tourists to do so here.
I got a lot of helpful advice from Ben6600, here is our conversation and I hope it helps you too
"Hi,
First I registered at the aan.pt 1 website
https://www.aan.pt/subPagina-AAN-001.005.005-aeronaves-nao-tripuladas-drones
To get the account approved I had to download a Declaration form, sign it and post it to the AAN in Portugal. This can be avoided if you have a certified digital signature. My account was approved within a couple of days.
I then applied for the European Operator/Flyer certs. I did this via the Irish website, which turned out the be fairly expensive, so I would recommend doing this via Luxembourg. This stage did require that I install an authenticator app, which was slightly long-winded but got there in the end.
The aan.pt 1 website portal is very friendly and you can add dates and locations of where you intend to fly. As long as the areas are not sensitive, approval is given instantly and you get a certificate you can print and carry with you.
Hope this helps.
Ben
To be honest the Luxembourg system did look more complex, which is why I went down the Irish route. To warn you, it cost 30 Euros to take the test (which I didn’t discover until I’d completed it) and 30 euros to get an EU Operator ID. I didn’t complete the process in getting a Flyer ID as time ran out and I suspect it would cost yet another 30 Euros."
Please contact Ben6600 or scroll down in the topic until you find the conversation between Ben and I.
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