I recently posted on YouTube an aerial shot above the city of Las Palmas on the island of Gran Canaria. I received a few negative comments, telling me that I was not allowed to fly there and that I could be fined for it. Does anyone have additional information about flying over Las Palmas? Is it possible to be fined for this flight / shooting? As much as I liked the area and no matter how beautiful it looks from the air, I would not like to be fined for it and I better withdraw the filming from You Tube.
Thanks.

Have a look here - it may help

https://drone-traveller.com/drone-regulations-worldwide/

Aloha Balaes,

     If you have not looked up Las Palmas in the link Gelert provided, the conflict that may have been brought to your attention involves the flying over buildings (and people).  You state that you posted a "shot" above the city of Las Palmas.  There would be an expectation of many buildings in any city.  I have no direct knowledge of the area and the rules, but this seems pretty straight forward - you were flying over buildings and people.

     In the future, you may want to fly over water and away from boats to stay safely away from people and buildings.  You can still get some nice shots of the city that way.  But be sure to look into the regulations that Spain has so you do not find out about a different problem too late.

     As for fines - again I am not an expert on Spanish procedures - but usually governments are concerned about Commercial Operations.  In Gelert's link there is a lot of good information for following the rules.  If you look into the information, you should be able to fly safely and with peace of mind in Las Palmas next time.

     Hope this helps!

Aloha and Drone On!

Cetacean Posted at 2-21 02:34
Aloha Balaes,

     If you have not looked up Las Palmas in the link Gelert provided, the conflict that may have been brought to your attention involves the flying over buildings (and people).  You state that you posted a "shot" above the city of Las Palmas.  There would be an expectation of many buildings in any city.  I have no direct knowledge of the area and the rules, but this seems pretty straight forward - you were flying over buildings and people.

Thank you.

Gelert Posted at 2-21 00:26
Have a look here - it may help

https://drone-traveller.com/drone-regulations-worldwide/

This is a really great resource for a quick reference.  Thanks a bunch!

Neo Supreme Posted at 2-21 04:44
This is a really great resource for a quick reference.  Thanks a bunch!

My pleasure - glad you think it may be of use

I think regarding Spain you would probably need to be caught on site flying to receive fine. On YT yes I suppose there are now many drone police around and only to quick to point the finger, It’s easy target to attack drone flyers so maybe best to check risky flights before flying.

This is a learning game for all of us and as time goes by we will hopefully learn more.

This a an
Official drone map of spain
https://www.icarusrpa.info/mapa.php?opt=all

Check it out

There was a dutch guy , drone vlogger, few years ago who
Posted his drone experience in tenerife. He was fined 600 euros after being stopped by parkranger. They sent him the fine a few weeks afterwards to his home adres

I wonder about the weight of the drone

I would not fret about it, unless you plan to go back to Spain...
I doubt The Guardia Civil will come knocking at your door in your home country...

Hi. Thank you for reaching out to DJI Forum. I hope that our valued DJI co pilots can provide you the best information for this inquiry. In addition, pkindly please follow local rules and regulation when flying the said drone and for reference I will posting a link where in you can check a certain location if it is safe or free to fly your drone or if the said location is a No Fly Zone. Thank you for your valued support.

I hope to go to Gran Canaria later this year. I think I'll leave the Mavic at home this time!

Quite a bit of Gran Canaria has no flight restrictions according to Icarus

I am Spanish and I just want to report that it is not allowed to fly in Las Palmas, you can check it on the official map of the State Air Safety Agency https://drones.enaire.es/

K_Aalej Posted at 2-25 23:35
I am Spanish and I just want to report that it is not allowed to fly in Las Palmas, you can check it on the official map of the State Air Safety Agency https://drones.enaire.es/

[view_image]

Aloha Aalej,

     Mahalo for the map information.  That is definitely more complete than anything I could come up with!

Aloha and Drone On!

K_Aalej Posted at 2-25 23:35
I am Spanish and I just want to report that it is not allowed to fly in Las Palmas, you can check it on the official map of the State Air Safety Agency https://drones.enaire.es/

[view_image]

How much is the fine and the punishment?

AntDX316 Posted at 2-26 00:42
How much is the fine and the punishment?

The range of fines is from 60 euros in the mildest cases to 225,000 in the most serious. To these amounts, it should be added the repair of damages caused, compensation...

Flycaster Posted at 2-21 07:16
I would not fret about it, unless you plan to go back to Spain...
I doubt The Guardia Civil will come knocking at your door in your home country...

Don't forget that both Spain and Romania are part of the EU which has substantial powers across borders.  I don't know how much that applies in this particular case, but the EU is surprisingly powerful in areas you may not expect.

Oops, forgot about that aspect....
Don't answer the door...

K_Aalej Posted at 2-26 05:26
The range of fines is from 60 euros in the mildest cases to 225,000 in the most serious. To these amounts, it should be added the repair of damages caused, compensation...

Yeah, some people can keep their stuff private but instead they air it out into the world and ask, I could be fined?? like the guy who had filmed chasing a helicopter that they were working together on a radio.  FAA called the helicopter company to know if the .. well have a look yourself.

https://droneracingpilots.com/threads/i-flew-with-a-helicopter.3110/

https://mavicpilots.com/threads/ ... e.82837/post-936512

KlooGee Posted at 2-26 05:33
Don't forget that both Spain and Romania are part of the EU which has substantial powers across borders.  I don't know how much that applies in this particular case, but the EU is surprisingly powerful in areas you may not expect.

And how do the police find out who you are and where you live, simply from a posting on YouTube. And even if they could, where is the hard evidence connecting a video clip to the person. BS.

Geebax Posted at 3-2 13:14
And how do the police find out who you are and where you live, simply from a posting on YouTube. And even if they could, where is the hard evidence connecting a video clip to the person. BS.

Very easily.
YouTube/Google log all the IP addresses and user names used to upload.  If a legal request comes in for that data they supply it, usually within hours.
Then its just a phone call to the ISP or similar if needed and all the evidence they need is there.

There have been several incidents in the UK and Europe where people have received fines or a visit from the police after posting something on youtube.

gnirtS Posted at 3-4 20:07
Very easily.
YouTube/Google log all the IP addresses and user names used to upload.  If a legal request comes in for that data they supply it, usually within hours.
Then its just a phone call to the ISP or similar if needed and all the evidence they need is there.

They might be able to get that information in Thailand, but few places would hand out that information. Apart from that, that does not constitute proof that you actually flew where the images say. Unless they catch you flying the aircraft, it is nothing but circumstantial evidence, not sufficent to convict you, especially if you deny flying there.

Geebax Posted at 3-4 20:39
They might be able to get that information in Thailand, but few places would hand out that information. Apart from that, that does not constitute proof that you actually flew where the images say. Unless they catch you flying the aircraft, it is nothing but circumstantial evidence, not sufficent to convict you, especially if you deny flying there.

Thailand?  Far less likely.

Google (Who own youtube) are compelled by law to respond to legal warrant and identification requests and do so often.  They aim to respond within a working day, minutes if urgent.

Its a simple, trivial, well used system.

As i said, there have been several cases where people have been fined and/or received visits from the police following a post on youtube or social media.  This is the UK and Europe.  Established, genuine cases.

If when viewing the footage its believed an offence has been committed its usually a simple matter of an email or phone call to get the posters name and details.  And then a few minutes more to get their address or contact details from Google, ISP, Voters register etc.

You're talking about established procedures that have been around years and are used daily.

So yes, it can happen and it has happened.

Clearly you're not a lawyer or any form of legal expert because they most certainly do NOT have to catch you operating the drone in the same way they don't have to catch you burgling a house or punching someone.  There are plenty of other ways to prove guilt.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/tech ... ndon-landmarks.html  <-- was found through his own facebook postings.  

Theres also the BTP fine issued for a drone flying too close to a railway bridge informed and traced through instagram.

Also the case in Barrow of someone buzzing a bridge and a restricted site again through his own hosted youtube.

In none of their cases was the person caught flying the drone, the crimes were all detected and investigated later based on videos and convictions generated.

These offences are far easier to prosecute than convention ones, its quick, easy and doesnt even involve leaving the station to do so.  Its the same with the huge increase in warnings for posting things on Twitter that upsets other people.  

Quite simply, online you are non anonymous.  If you commit and offence, pretty much every developed country can get your information within minutes.

how about check drone regulations and restrictions at the place you want to visit, for a change? i mean, really..
so much talk about this everywhere, playing ignorant in this case is really not viable any more in this modern age of internet etc. and what most angers me in this cases is the fact that most people knows, it is or could be restricted and all that, and still decide to post media on public sources aka fb, yotube etc so whole world could see it, and just hammer another nail to hobby coffin.
don't get me wrong, i know it's fun to fly etc, but lets be more mature about this, they want ban whole thing anyway already, if you can see, what they're doing with regulations and all that..

izotop Posted at 3-6 19:10
how about check drone regulations and restrictions at the place you want to visit, for a change? i mean, really..
so much talk about this everywhere, playing ignorant in this case is really not viable any more in this modern age of internet etc. and what most angers me in this cases is the fact that most people knows, it is or could be restricted and all that, and still decide to post media on public sources aka fb, yotube etc so whole world could see it, and just hammer another nail to hobby coffin.
don't get me wrong, i know it's fun to fly etc, but lets be more mature about this, they want ban whole thing anyway already, if you can see, what they're doing with regulations and all that..

Unfortunately the main reason we HAVE so many restrictions now are people not checking or familiarising themselves with local laws and regulations.
They just assume "its ok".

Yes there are idiots who knowingly violate laws and regulations but a far higher number are ignorant of them and violate them unknowingly.

The drone community is very immature/not grown up enough when compared to other hobbies that require research and planning before action.

gnirtS Posted at 3-6 19:22
Unfortunately the main reason we HAVE so many restrictions now are people not checking or familiarising themselves with local laws and regulations.
They just assume "its ok".

i don't agree on that, i think this days majority of drone operators are aware (not long ago,m there weren't really any  lwas about it, but they went from one extreme to other with them, imo) of restrictions etc. yes, there are few exceptions, but if you ask me, it is other side that went more crazy about it..