Drones are Unmanned Versatile Aircraft or aerial vehicle or an aircraft without any human pilot, crew or passengers on board. However, drones are controlled on remote when the controller is on the ground with some degree of autonomy, such as autopilot assistance, up to fully autonomous aircraft that have no provision for human intervention.
You need a drone importation permit acquired in advance before arrival at Entebbe Airport. It’s advisable to submit the application at least three months in advance. If you arrive without this permit, the drone will be picked up at the airport and kept until your departure. So, if you want to visit other countries after your trip, you can take your copter with you if you choose the same airport for arrival and departure from Uganda. Otherwise, I would leave my camera drone at home. In Uganda, Importation of drones requires clearances from Uganda People’s Defense Force.
How to Import a Drone To Uganda
Crystal Fixers Uganda is here by assisting you clear your drone at Entebbe Airport but it’s important to send the following information in advance:
- The name of the filming company and brief introduction
- Type of the drone
- Manufacture
- Specifications
- Filming areas
- Filming date and Time
- Reasons of filming
After receiving the listed details, Crystal film fixers will forward them to the Ministerial office like Ministry of Tourism. The ministry will then forward your details to Ministry of Defense and security which will look through your papers, scrutinize and decide whether yes or No since the ministry or Defense has full authority to allow the importation of drone or not.
After serious evaluation, the ministry of Defense will then instruct the Uganda Civil Aviation Authority (UCAA) to deny or accept the importation of the drone into Uganda. The ministry of Defense will then write back to the primary ministry say; Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities informing them to allow or deny the request of the importation of the drone. At this stage, crystal Film Fixers Uganda will send the feed back to the production company.
