Outdoor drone shows in the UAE: how permits work and where to start

An outdoor drone show in the UAE is treated as an aviation operation held as part of an event. In practice that means a chain of approvals in which each subsequent step rests on the documents and conditions already in place. The most common mistake is to try to start with the flight application before the site, the parameters of the operation and the operator’s basic documents have been settled.

If you need to know what to do tomorrow morning, the order is this: choose the emirate and the exact site, obtain the NOC from the site and then start the ground approvals and the aviation part, closing the local procedures of the chosen emirate in parallel.

This text sets out the working logic of the preparation: what initial data is needed, which documents the applications are built from, which authorities are involved, where the emirates differ and why a show can still be stopped on the day of the event even when the permits have been obtained in advance.

It is important to understand the term NOC. In the UAE, NOC normally means No Objection Certificate: a letter stating that a party does not object to a particular action under stated conditions. A single project may involve several NOCs from several parties. They do not replace one another and each is valid only within its own role.

How the system works in the UAE

The system has two layers.

The federal layer sets the basic requirements for unmanned operations, for the registration of drones, for pilot approvals, for insurance and for the coordination of airspace use. The main strand here runs through the federal aviation procedures.

The emirate layer adds local procedures in individual emirates, particularly where flights take place during an event and where work is carried out in that emirate. This does not override the federal requirements; it adds local approvals to them. In practice the fine detail shows up most often in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

A practical rule: the same show format in different emirates may call for a different set of local steps, even when the federal part is identical. Which is why the emirate and the exact location have to be settled before the chain begins.

Where the preparation of a project starts

It starts with the initial parameters that determine the permitting route. These are what the operator needs before any approvals begin.

• The exact emirate and the exact location of the site: address, coordinates, site plan.
• The date and the time window, including the build, test flights and the rehearsal if one is planned.
• An assessment of the surroundings from the air: whether there is an airport nearby, and whether helicopter routes, sensitive sites, coastal zones or dense urban development are in play.
• Whether aerial filming is required or filming from the ground is enough.
• The type of event, whether private, public or government and who owns the site.

This data determines what airspace can be requested, what restrictions apply and which authorities will be involved. The coordinates and the site plan are needed before any promise is made to the client about altitude and timing, because it is the location that sets the restrictions and the route of approvals.

It is also important to record not only the name of the site but the exact launch point, the boundaries of the flight zone and the layout of the audience area. Even a small shift in the take-off point or in the flight zone can change the approval regime.

A note on altitude. By default the reference altitude is often taken as 120 metres. For an animation of more than 400 drones, that is often too low, particularly if the show design has vertical figures and figures set high in the sky. So at the stage of filing the aviation part, a greater altitude has to be stated and requested straight away if the picture and the readability of the animation need it. If the altitude is not requested in advance, it cannot simply be added on site on the day of the show.

What the operating company must have before applying for a particular show

Preparing and obtaining the permits is the operator’s job, not the client’s. But it matters to the client to understand which basic conditions the operator has to meet, because without them the project cannot move through the approvals at all.

The operator’s right to work in the UAE. The operator has to hold formal authorisation to operate unmanned aircraft in the UAE. This is the legal and regulatory basis on which the operator is approved to carry out operations and accepts responsibility for safety. First of all, the company must hold a licence to work with drones. The practical check for a client is simple: the operator has to confirm that it has the right to carry out unmanned operations in the UAE and to file for approvals.

Fleet registration in the UAE and the documents on the drones. The drones used for the show have to be registered in the UAE. For an outdoor show the operator prepares the list of drones and identifiers in advance, because serial numbers and specifications appear in the applications. It is important to settle the number of drones taking part in the show early, because that affects the document package and the parameters of the operation, altitude included. A practical detail: serial numbers and specifications must match across every document package. Mismatches often lead to applications being sent back for clarification.

Pilots and approvals. Pilots must hold the correct approvals to fly in the UAE for the relevant category of operation. The client does not need to understand the types of certificate, but it is important to understand the principle: the pilots’ documents have to be accepted in the UAE for the type of operation being applied for. The practical check: the operator has to be able to show that its pilots are approved to fly in the UAE within the planned operation specifically.

Insurance. Insurance is needed before any operations. In outdoor shows that means, above all, third-party liability. The specific limits depend on the site, on the format of the event and on the client’s requirements, but insurance as a condition of starting work is not optional. A practical detail: sites and event organisers often ask for proof of insurance before issuing their own NOCs.

A client who wants to check the operator’s readiness before signing a contract need only ask for confirmation on four points.

• The operator has the right to carry out drone work in the UAE.
• The drones that will take part in the show are already registered in the UAE.
• The pilots who will fly hold the correct UAE approvals for the operation being applied for.
• Insurance is arranged before operations begin and covers the type of work being carried out in the UAE.

What is prepared at site level, and why nothing moves without it

The first document the rest of the approvals often rest on is the NOC from the site. This is written confirmation from the owner of the land that the operator is permitted to use a particular take-off point, to place equipment and to carry out the operation at a stated time.

For the site’s NOC to be useful for the next steps, it has to record at least the following: the exact place and coordinates, the date and the time window, the right to use a particular take-off point and to place equipment, the details of the signatory and of the site’s legal entity, the conditions of access and the site’s requirements on perimeters and safety. If the project includes tests and a rehearsal, their windows are best included in the NOC from the outset. If the site has issued an NOC only for the show itself and the tests are not covered, that is a risk to readiness and a risk of breaching the venue’s own regulations.

One more practical detail on the site: establish straight away who exactly signs the NOC, what the site’s internal turnaround is for issuing such a letter, and in what format it draws these documents up. A frequent cause of delay is that no signatory is available or that the letter goes through a long internal approval.

After the site’s NOC, the strand of approvals with the government authorities and the ground services usually begins. The set can differ by emirate and by type of site, but the logic is the same: public safety, order on the site, fire requirements, access, security, the access rules of the site.

It is important to separate two different kinds of document on the ground. These are the NOC from the site owner, which grants the right to use the land and the event permit, where one is required for that particular format and place. These documents do not replace one another and often run in parallel. They have to be synchronised on place, time and site layout.

Who is usually involved on the ground, depending on the location and the format of the event

• The police of the relevant emirate, for public safety, crowd control, perimeter security and site-access matters.
• Municipal authorities, where a permit is required to hold an event on public land, to install structures or to impose temporary restrictions.
• Civil Defence, for fire safety, evacuation plans and requirements on equipment and access.
• The administration of the site or its management company, for operational access, build windows, power and placement restrictions.
• Additional authorities according to the profile of the site: a port, a waterfront, a cultural site, a government complex, a restricted zone.

The set of ground authorities is determined not only by the emirate but by the type of territory. The private grounds of a hotel and a public waterfront call for different models of ground approval. Government and restricted sites may add a separate approval strand inside the owner’s own organisation.

The simple rule on the event permit is this: where the event is public and takes place on public land, a separate permit to hold the event most often becomes a compulsory requirement. Where the site is private, the permitting model more often depends on the venue’s own procedures and on the requirements of its security services, but the ground strand still has to be synchronised with the site plan and the perimeters.

Which aviation authorities are involved and what they are asked for

At federal level the basic aviation part is approved against the parameters of the specific operation: place, altitude, date, time, duration, the boundaries of the zone. Which is why any late change to place, time, altitude or duration normally means going back through the approval.

Dubai. In Dubai, flying during an event normally calls for a separate local procedure and an NOC for the event specifically. This is a frequent reason why a project that is technically ready cannot start without the local document, even when the federal part is closed.

Abu Dhabi. In Abu Dhabi the local layer of safety assessment and of operator approval for working in the emirate is more pronounced. That adds steps on safety and requires the operator to confirm in advance that it meets local expectations.

Other emirates. Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah, Ajman, Fujairah and the others have their own aviation departments and NOC services. If a project is not in Dubai or Abu Dhabi, the route is built on the principle of the federal base plus the local procedure of the emirate.

Separate approval strands that must not be missed

Airspace restrictions by zone. The location may lie near an airport, near helipads or inside a restricted area. The flight parameters, meaning altitude, time and boundaries, will then be tighter and the approval may call for additional conditions. Assessing the zone correctly needs the coordinates and the site plan, not just the name of the hotel or the district.

The typical sequence of permits in the UAE

• Choice of emirate and exact location, preparation of the site plan and coordinates.
• Obtaining the NOC from the site for the use of the territory and the take-off point.
• Preparation of the ground safety package for the site, covering perimeters, access, the plan of works and the measures for the audience.
• Approval of that package with the relevant services, meaning the police, the municipal authorities, Civil Defence and the site administration, according to the requirements of that particular location.
• Filing the aviation part for approval of airspace use against specific parameters: place, altitude, date, time, duration, the boundaries of the zone.
• In parallel, where applicable, the local aviation NOCs of the chosen emirate, particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
• Carrying out the build, the tests and the rehearsals strictly within the approved windows.

Coordination before the start on the day of the show

On some projects, additional coordination is required before the actual start if the conditions of the permit say so directly, or if the operation runs under conditions where the beginning of work has to be confirmed within the approved window. This normally applies where the operation has a strictly fixed time window, an allocated zone, notification conditions or additional requirements from the emirate’s local aviation authority or from navigation services. If the permit sets out a procedure for making contact before the start, the operator is obliged to follow it. It is important for the client to ask the operator in advance for the procedure and the contact list for the day of the event. This condition is always checked against the text of the permit issued and against the approval letter, not against a verbal understanding.

What the client should prepare so the operator does not lose weeks

• The contact for the site owner and the site’s readiness to issue an NOC.
• An understanding of who signs the NOC on the site’s side and in what format the site draws such letters up.
• Exact coordinates and a site plan showing where the launch zone will be and where the audience will be.
• The date and the time window, including the test flight (the rehearsal) and the build window.
• The status of the event and the data the site or the services may ask for, for example, the expected number of guests and the proposed layout of the perimeters.

So that the operator can start quickly, it helps to gather this data in a single letter: the coordinates and the site plan, the contact for the NOC signatory at the site, the show window and the rehearsal window, the format of the event, whether private or public, the approximate number of guests and the site’s requirements on perimeters and access.

What not to expect from the approval process

• A drone show operator cannot guarantee a date without an NOC from the site and final coordinates for the take-off point.
• Changing the site a few days before the show almost always affects the approvals.
• The same set of documents can work differently in Dubai and in Abu Dhabi.

What typically stops a show

• There is no signed NOC from the site, or the NOC does not state the exact date, time and take-off point.
• There is no final site plan with perimeters and the audience area.
• The site or the time window changes after the approval process has started.
• The status of the event changes (a private event becomes public) and an additional strand of ground permits comes into play.

Cancellation on the day of the show is possible even when the permits have been obtained in advance. As a rule this is not the withdrawal of a permit but the absence of confirmation to launch, because the actual conditions do not match the approved ones.

The typical reasons are these.

• The site’s conditions have not been met on the ground, or the actual points and perimeters differ from the approved ones.
• The ground services do not confirm that the perimeters, the crowd control or the access are ready according to the event plan.
• The actual start time, the duration or the flight zone differs from what was approved.
• The supporting documents that may be requested during an inspection are not present on site.
• Operational safety restrictions on the territory or in the air are introduced on the day of the event, and the launch is postponed or cancelled.

The risk of cancellation on the day can be reduced by running a final check with the operator and the site in advance: the take-off point matches the approved one, the perimeters are set out in accordance with the plan, the time windows are confirmed, the document package is on site and the responsible people and their contacts are known.

How responsibility is distributed on a project

• The site grants the right to use the land and confirms the conditions of access.
• The ground authorities confirm the requirements on public safety and on holding an event on the site, where that is required.
• The aviation authorities confirm the parameters of airspace use for the specific operation.
• The operator is responsible for preparing the documents, for the safety of the flight operation and for compliance with the conditions of every approval issued.

CMO & Founder of DRONICO, Evgeny Shapoval