Hi all,

I am soon flying to Abu Dhabi for a stopover for 2 days. Afterwards I continue to my final destination. I want to take my drone with me but currently all drone operations in UAE are suspended.

I don't want to fly in Abu Dhabi anyway. Does anybody know how to handle this?

all the best and happy flying

Ship your drone to your final destination.

Simple   don`t fly there

   or is it illegal to bring a drone into Abu Dhabi ?

The Saint Posted at 11-3 11:58
Ship your drone to your final destination.

good idea but not possible in this case. The final destination is Socotra.

JJB* Posted at 11-4 04:42
Simple   don`t fly there

   or is it illegal to bring a drone into Abu Dhabi ?

I don't plan to fly there. This is what I found in a different website:

"How about if you’re staying for a few days in Dubai on your way somewhere else? Things get a bit trickier, as it requires going through customs. Strictly speaking, the regulations state that any drones brought into the UAE, including Dubai, must be registered with the GCAA (UAE General Civil Aviation Authority). But unless you’re a UAE National or a foreign national with a UAE residence visa, you can’t register a drone. That means tourists can’t really legally bring a drone into Dubai."

flyingeddi Posted at 11-4 05:46
I don't plan to fly there. This is what I found in a different website:

"How about if you’re staying for a few days in Dubai on your way somewhere else? Things get a bit trickier, as it requires going through customs. Strictly speaking, the regulations state that any drones brought into the UAE, including Dubai, must be registered with the GCAA (UAE General Civil Aviation Authority). But unless you’re a UAE National or a foreign national with a UAE residence visa, you can’t register a drone. That means tourists can’t really legally bring a drone into Dubai."

oke, mayby hand over to custums at arrival and get i back when leaving? worth a few email i guess...

JJB* Posted at 11-4 05:59
oke, mayby hand over to custums at arrival and get i back when leaving? worth a few email i guess...

yes I will write the airport an email and see what I find out. I was just wandering if there are some people with recent first-hand-experiences

this is the problem with a lot of places.  unfortunately you may find that the custom folks aren't a pawn shop or a storage facility and even if you tell you they will do things others, don't have great expectation.  they confiscate, destroy, and otherwise lose a lot of stuff since they are not in the business of managing people's property.  ie. they don't hand out claim tickets and they don't have time to make exceptions to the rules.  if you cannot afford to lose it, don't let your personal property (which you are the only person who values it) go anywhere near them.  a drone is pretty harmless but i know a lot of places who see your stuff as only one thing:  contraband.

flyingeddi Posted at 11-4 06:19
yes I will write the airport an email and see what I find out. I was just wandering if there are some people with recent first-hand-experiences

Hello! I have the same issue. I bought my drone specifically for a trip where I have a 3-day stopover in Abu Dhabi. Did you eventually manage to legally bring in the drone, or what steps did you follow?

djiuser_aLoeTnKyOikZ Posted at 12-28 02:02
Hello! I have the same issue. I bought my drone specifically for a trip where I have a 3-day stopover in Abu Dhabi. Did you eventually manage to legally bring in the drone, or what steps did you follow?

hi. I did not do the trip yet. It is in February. So far I wrote to two authorities. One said it was the wrong one and forwarded me to another one. So far I did not receive a proper answer yet. Right now I am leaning towards the conclusion that it is too much hassle / risk and that I will not bring the drone at all. If you find something out let us know here in the forum.

I wrote to this Email address: drones@gcaa.gov.ae
and my second mail was to the airport but they never replied

flyingeddi Posted at 2023-12-28 02:31
hi. I did not do the trip yet. It is in February. So far I wrote to two authorities. One said it was the wrong one and forwarded me to another one. So far I did not receive a proper answer yet. Right now I am leaning towards the conclusion that it is too much hassle / risk and that I will not bring the drone at all. If you find something out let us know here in the forum.

I wrote to this Email address:  

Hey there! I had the same issue a couple of times flying through Dubai - on the most recent trip (which was over a year ago, so not 100% sure the rules are still the same) - I got pulled aside when walking through customs as they saw the drone on the X-ray machine and I just had to leave it there whilst in Dubai and then pick it up when I left. It was pretty simple, you fill out a form and then they tell you where to go to pick it up on the way back out of Dubai. Dropping it off took about 30-45 mins, picking it up took about 10-15mins. I’m assuming it’s a similar procedure in Abu Dhabi. Hope this helps! Jord

flyingeddi Posted at 2023-12-28 02:31
hi. I did not do the trip yet. It is in February. So far I wrote to two authorities. One said it was the wrong one and forwarded me to another one. So far I did not receive a proper answer yet. Right now I am leaning towards the conclusion that it is too much hassle / risk and that I will not bring the drone at all. If you find something out let us know here in the forum.

I wrote to this Email address:  

Hey mate, did you hear back from customs? I too am planning to go to Socotra this year and I will have a 2 day stopover in Abu Dhabi, I'm worried it will get confiscated by customs.

Eric Bartolo Posted at 1-9 03:51
Hey mate, did you hear back from customs? I too am planning to go to Socotra this year and I will have a 2 day stopover in Abu Dhabi, I'm worried it will get confiscated by customs.

no I did not. And until now I decided that all the hassle and uncertainty is not worth it and that I will not take my drone with me for the peace of mind... not needing to worry.

In abu dhabi they take my drone and force me to send it back to Italy, ma home contry. I paid for that 300 aed

djiuser_omaZ5xDGJdCq Posted at 2-24 07:54
In abu dhabi they take my drone and force me to send it back to Italy, ma home contry. I paid for that 300 aed

Hi sir. Were you a transfer there? Or it was the final destination, What kind of drone was it?

djiuser_omaZ5xDGJdCq Posted at 2-24 07:54
In abu dhabi they take my drone and force me to send it back to Italy, ma home contry. I paid for that 300 aed

oh that is bad... sorry to hear that

Just came from Socotra on last tuesday
My drone (dji mini 3 pro) was confiscated when I arrived in Abu Dhabi
Took back 2 days after on the day I would fly to Socotra

It took a while to confiscate it, they didn't not know exactly what to do with the drone, mismatch information, one officer told me that it would be confiscated and then returned, another officer told me that it would be shipped back to my home country, then they call a supervisor to decide.

But it all about luck once you arrive, becase on my check in line to Socotra, that was a bunch of people who arrive with a drone and it was not confiscated.

On my way back I had a 11 hours conexion on Abu Dhabi, before the trip I was planning to leave the airport and go to the city, but I was afraid to be parked at immigration again because of the drone, so I stayed at the airport

FCRO Posted at 3-24 04:31
Just came from Socotra on last tuesday
My drone (dji mini 3 pro) was confiscated when I arrived in Abu Dhabi
Took back 2 days after on the day I would fly to Socotra

thanks for sharing your experience!!

How did you like Socotra? I loved it!

Hello, I will also be flying to Abu Dhabi soon for a 2 hour layover. I am traveling to Indonesia and I want to know if I can enter Abu Dhabi with my drone. Maybe if I carry the drone in a checked bag and only carry the flight batteries in the cabin, they won't confiscate the drone? I've been reading that many people have had it confiscated.  Thank you so much!

Kitus999 Posted at 3-30 05:27
Hello, I will also be flying to Abu Dhabi soon for a 2 hour layover. I am traveling to Indonesia and I want to know if I can enter Abu Dhabi with my drone. Maybe if I carry the drone in a checked bag and only carry the flight batteries in the cabin, they won't confiscate the drone? I've been reading that many people have had it confiscated.  Thank you so much!

as long as I am not mistaken you are only transiting Abu Dhabi and not entering Abu Dhabi (as your layover is only 2 hours). As long as you stay in the transit area the drone should be no problem

FCRO Posted at 3-24 04:31
Just came from Socotra on last tuesday
My drone (dji mini 3 pro) was confiscated when I arrived in Abu Dhabi
Took back 2 days after on the day I would fly to Socotra

Hi! Did you keep your drone in your hand luggage or your check-in luggage?

Do they xray hand luggage upon entering abu dhabi?

Cheers