Thailand Drone Laws

MiamiPhantom · Dec 6, 2015

Hello everyone,

I am traveling to Thailand in March 2016, I am not sure if anyone here knows about the laws and specific terms of use in Thailand in terms of drones. The internet doesn't have anything up to date past August of this year on information so I'm wondering if it's still legal to fly drones in Thailand, thanks.

ScottyT · Jan 17, 2016

MiamiPhantom said:
Hello everyone,

I am traveling to Thailand in March 2016, I am not sure if anyone here knows about the laws and specific terms of use in Thailand in terms of drones. The internet doesn't have anything up to date past August of this year on information so I'm wondering if it's still legal to fly drones in Thailand, thanks.

Hi Mate,

I too am going over shortly, Feb 5, and want to know the same. I've had a quick look around and it's difficult to find convincing information.

This seems to be the most up to date:

New Laws for Use of UAVs/Drones in Thailand

PDF of the info above: http://f.datasrvr.com/fr1/315/77840/New_Laws_for_Use_of_UAVs_Drones_in_Thailand.pdf

I might email this Thai Law firm directly to see if anything has changed here.

Also a recent discussion of laws here Quick Look at the New Drone Law in Thailand

I'm going to take my P3 to Phuket and Ko Phi Phi, but I'm going to be super careful. Hopefully I don't run in to any conflict with overzealous officials you sometimes hear and worry about!

cheers

izzydrone · Feb 29, 2016

keep us posted. I'm going to thailand at end of march and was planning on bringing my p3.

Choad McDaniel · Feb 29, 2016

I'm hoping to see some drone footage of Katoeys.

JTC · Mar 1, 2016

ScottyT said:
Hi Mate,

I too am going over shortly, Feb 5, and want to know the same. I've had a quick look around and it's difficult to find convincing information.

This seems to be the most up to date:

New Laws for Use of UAVs/Drones in Thailand

PDF of the info above: http://f.datasrvr.com/fr1/315/77840/New_Laws_for_Use_of_UAVs_Drones_in_Thailand.pdf

I might email this Thai Law firm directly to see if anything has changed here.

Also a recent discussion of laws here Quick Look at the New Drone Law in Thailand

I'm going to take my P3 to Phuket and Ko Phi Phi, but I'm going to be super careful. Hopefully I don't run in to any conflict with overzealous officials you sometimes hear and worry about!

cheers

Just make sure that you have 1,000 Baht available for that "special" permit.

JKDSensei · Mar 1, 2016

JTC said:
Just make sure that you have 1,000 Baht available for that "special" permit.

That's like $28.00 USD I think

JTC · Mar 1, 2016

JKDSensei said:
That's like $28.00 USD I think

Should be about $35.00 U.S. When I lived there it was the standard fee for any "offense" .

JKDSensei · Mar 1, 2016

JTC said:
Should be about $35.00 U.S. When I lived there it was the standard fee for any "offense" .

Yes, closer to $35.00 you are right.
wow. Sounds like a bargain. In the US it's like $500 for any minor offense

izzydrone · Mar 31, 2016

So im in Bangkok right now... the Hyatt Grand Erawan concierge scared me pretty good saying not to fly anything that looks professional with a professional camera. its illegal and yada yada yada... he did however recommend Lumita park. he recommended that if i fly with something that is more toy like i should be ok and some bahts should fix the problem. so i put 10,000 Bahts in my backpack hidden, and 1000 in my pocket and looked for a place to fly. Finally after about 30 min of walking around a nearby park I found a pretty good spot. heres the clip from it. theres police at every entrance, random gyms, and prayer areas... so i stayed clear of them and found the most open area with no-one around. It was my first time flying FPV in acro mode. More footage to come soon, I'm literally at the airport about to fly to phuket.

Inocente Sandoval · Oct 2, 2016

izzydrone said:
So im in Bangkok right now... the Hyatt Grand Erawan concierge scared me pretty good saying not to fly anything that looks professional with a professional camera. its illegal and yada yada yada... he did however recommend Lumita park. he recommended that if i fly with something that is more toy like i should be ok and some bahts should fix the problem. so i put 10,000 Bahts in my backpack hidden, and 1000 in my pocket and looked for a place to fly. Finally after about 30 min of walking around a nearby park I found a pretty good spot. heres the clip from it. theres police at every entrance, random gyms, and prayer areas... so i stayed clear of them and found the most open area with no-one around. It was my first time flying FPV in acro mode. More footage to come soon, I'm literally at the airport about to fly to phuket.

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So how was flying your drone in Phuket? I'm traveling to Bangkok and Phuket in December and am thinking of buying the new Mavic to record some parts of my trip.

kiteboy · Oct 14, 2016

Hi all,

I'm in Thailand right now! No problems what so ever with the drone!

I didn't fly on Bangkok because I just wanna to avoid problems and also it was too hot for my to carry around the bag pack believe me!!

At every entrance to the metro there will be a police officer searching bags! But they never say anything about the drone!

Once in south Thailand just be aware of not flying on national parks that collect entrance fee! They will be watching! I.e: hong island! But the rest of places is ok as long as you fly following normal rules (not over people, bla bla bla)

RFlagg · Oct 14, 2016

With the death of the king I would lay low on having any fun in public that could get you in trouble in town
They are mighty particular about that kind of thing

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

mrtibbs · Oct 14, 2016

I was there back in March 2016 and had no problem . I kindly asked officials in the area if I could fly and they gave me no issue. I flew In Bangkok, Pi Pi Island , Phuket and Chang Mai....no one batted a eye...I did get a no on James Bond Island..so be warned...I'll be going again in April 2017 .but I plan to bring the Mavic for some small shots ...nothing as big as before

Gsbarcelona · Jan 27, 2017

mrtibbs said:
I was there back in March 2016 and had no problem . I kindly asked officials in the area if I could fly and they gave me no issue. I flew In Bangkok, Pi Pi Island , Phuket and Chang Mai....no one batted a eye...I did get a no on James Bond Island..so be warned...I'll be going again in April 2017 .but I plan to bring the Mavic for some small shots ...nothing as big as before

Hi I am going to Thailand in a couple of weeks. Have u heard about any changes in the law regulating drones? Do u think it is allowed to make some shooting in ayutthaya? I have a mavic so something smaller than the phantom but still it is a drone. Thanks

piotr_poland · Mar 20, 2017

I was in Thailand few months ago, didn't have any problems. I was even flying over Maya Bay at Phi Phi Islands, here you can see my footage:
Let me know if you have any questions.

Dronedtothebone · Mar 20, 2017

piotr_poland said:
I was in Thailand few months ago, didn't have any problems. I was even flying over Maya Bay at Phi Phi Islands, here you can see my footage:

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Let me know if you have any questions.

What Hotel Was That in the beginning where she was laying by the pool, going in 2 weeks and would like to stay there!

piotr_poland · Mar 21, 2017

Dronedtothebone said:
What Hotel Was That in the beginning where she was laying by the pool, going in 2 weeks and would like to stay there!

it's Phi Phi Cliff Beach Resort, I can fully recommend it to you!

John Gowland · Jun 15, 2017

piotr_poland said:
I was in Thailand few months ago, didn't have any problems. I was even flying over Maya Bay at Phi Phi Islands, here you can see my footage:

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Let me know if you have any questions.

Bugger! That is so good man. Is this your job, making vids and creating projects. I hope one day I could make something close to that. John

piotr_poland · Jun 16, 2017

John Gowland said:
Bugger! That is so good man. Is this your job, making vids and creating projects. I hope one day I could make something close to that. John

Thank you John! No, this is not my job, I am a server administrator & a piano player

making travel videos is just one of my hobbies. Next week going to Iceland, I hope my Phantom will survive in this windy & rainy weather

John Gowland · Jun 16, 2017

piotr_poland said:
Thank you John! No, this is not my job, I am a server administrator & a piano player making travel videos is just one of my hobbies. Next week going to Iceland, I hope my Phantom will survive in this windy & rainy weather

Well it looks very professional. Well done. I am going to Phuket in early July, can you concur with others that you can use a drone in most places, added with a little cash in your pocket. I am hoping to take my Phantom 3 Standard.