The Civil Aviation Authority has completed the amendments to the Air Navigation Regulation of Macau and is approved in the Executive Order No. 43/2021 which is published in today’s Official Gazette No. 40, Series I, with major amendments to the system regulating the unmanned aircraft activities.
In accordance with Article 67 of Part IX and Part XVI of the Air Navigation Regulation of Macau approved by Executive Order No. 43/2021, commencing tomorrow (6 October 2021). , anyone who wishes to perform flying activities in Macao must comply with the new requirements of the unmanned aircraft operations. Such requirements include the unmanned aircraft must fly within the height limits, the unmanned aircraft is not allowed to fly above the airspace of the classified “World Heritage Historic buildings”, the unmanned aircraft with minimum operating age, the unmanned aircraft with a total mass exceeding 7 kg must operate under the authority of and in accordance with an UA operator permit and an UA activity permit as well as the third party insurance with the minimum coverage, the application for authorization must be submitted to the Authority in advance if operations go beyond the restrictions as stipulated in the Air Navigation Regulation of Macau and so on. In addition to the above new regulations, operator must notify the Authority before the commencement of the operation of unmanned aircraft with a total mass exceeding 250grams through the “Online Application for UAV Activity Permit” electronic platform, the above regulations will put into effect one month after the announcement of Executive Order No. 43/2021 - “Approves the Air Navigation Regulation of Macau" (5 November 2021). Please see the following table for a better understanding of the new requirements for the unmanned aircraft activities.
| Category |
CAT 1 Total mass ≤ 250 grams |
CAT 2 Total mass > 250 grams to ≤ 7 kg |
CAT 3 Total mass >7 kg to ≤ 25 kg |
| Registration, labeling and notification requirements |
| Labeling |
X |
✓ |
✓ |
| Unmanned aircraft registration |
X(Remark1) |
✓ |
✓ |
| Unmanned aircraft pilot registration |
X(Remark1) |
✓ |
✓ |
| Notification prior to flight (Remark 2) |
X(Remark1) |
✓ |
✓ |
| Operating conditions |
| Restrictions on unmanned aircraft operations |
✓(Remark 1) |
✓(Remark 1) |
Subject to the requirements of the activity permit |
| Minimum operating age |
Not applicable |
14 years of age (Remark 5) |
18 years of age |
| Permits granted by the Civil Aviation Authority |
| Activity permit (Remark 3) |
X(Remark 1) |
X(Remark 1) |
✓ |
| Operator permit (Remark 4) |
X |
X |
✓ |
| Insurance |
| Third party insurance |
X |
X |
with minimum coverage of $10,000,000 (ten million patacas) |
| Remark 1: CAT 1 / CAT 2 operations that exceed the standard operating conditions during the flight must be approved by the Civil Aviation Authority in advance and notified before the flight. Remark 2: Submit notification prior to flight through the "Online Application for UAV Activity Permit" electronic platform, https://uav.aacm.gov.mo. Remark 3: Submit an activity application through the "Online Application for UAV Activity Permit" electronic platform, https://uav.aacm.gov.mo. Remark 4: Submit an application to the Civil Aviation Authority in writing. Remark 5: The person is at least 14 years of age or the minimum operating age defined by the manufacturer of the unmanned aircraft, whichever is higher; or if the person is under 14 years of age or the minimum operating age defined by the manufacturer, whichever is higher, the operation of the unmanned aircraft is conducted under direct supervision of a person who is at least 18 years of age and who can operate the unmanned aircraft. |
AACM reviews the aviation laws and regulations, standards and requirements in the Air Navigation Regulation of Macau on a periodical basis, and will introduce amendments whenever the need so justifies. AACM implements new amendments or requirements that are aimed at further enhancing aviation safety in order to provide a safe flight environment. The new unmanned aircraft operation requirements which come into effect today are implemented having considered similar law and practice in the neighbouring areas.
AACM takes the opportunity to highlight that the main objective of the legislation is to ensure aviation safety and to establish a decent clearance environment to guarantee that the living and the traveling of our residents can be protected. It is not the objective to purposely create a means to disturb people from leisure.
Anyone who wishes to read the details of the requirements and the full text of the Air Navigation Regulation of Macau can go to “Flying Activities (e.g. UAV)” under Chapter “Laws, Regulation & Multilateral Convention” of the AACM website through this link: https://www.aacm.gov.mo/flying_activities.html.
