Nowadays, drone photography can be considered as norm. Literally, everyone from the professionals and hobbyist use drone nowadays to capture the world in a whole new angle.

While travelling, bringing a drone to documents your journey and experience would be ideal but there’s a catch, there is various ethical and security concerns.

Malaysia is one of the country in Asia that allows the operation of drones. As we are promoting tourism via the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign, the government expected around 30 million tourist arrival this year and with these, there will be more drone flying activities throughout the country.

General Malaysia Drone Laws

As mentioned earlier, the usage of drone is allowed in the country. There are several laws that need to be followed when flying one in the country.

Unmaned Aircraft System

Drone is considered an unmaned aircraft system (UAS); and there are 3 main categories for this.

1. Small UAS – weight not more than 20kg (without feul, include equipment installed / attached)
2. Small unmanned surveillance aircraft – unmanned aircraft that equipped to undertake any form of data acquisition or surveillance.
3. UAS – not more than 20kg.

The Do’s and Don’t About Drone Flying In Malaysia

• You cannot fly higher than 400 feet (122 meters)
• You cannot fly within 50 meters of any person, vehicle or structure not associated with flying the drone
• Do not fly over crowds or densely populated areas
• You must fly during daylight hours and only fly in good weather conditions
• Respect others privacy when flying your drone
• Do not fly your drone within 4.5km of airports or in areas where aircraft are operating
• You must fly during daylight hours and only fly in good weather conditions
• Do not fly your drone in sensitive areas including government or military facilities. Use of drones or camera drones in these areas are prohibited

If you are flying a drone that weighs more than 20kg you must hold a private pilots license and obtain a permit for every flight you intend to operate. Drone Flying Permit is needed if only it will be used for commercial usage; permit not needed for recreational use.

For more information about applying drone permits or any questions regarding drone flying in Malaysia, do contact Civil Aviation Authority Of Malaysia (CAAM).