On the 6^th June 2016 the Government of Mauritius website published about upcoming amendments in the Civil Aviation Regulations. The post does not provide much detail about the regulations.

Since then there have been several articles in the press mentioning how the new regulations could affect drone enthusiasts, professional video makers and press people using remote aircraft for news reporting.

L’express - Réglementation : les drones vraiment interdits à moins de 27 km de l’aéroport? News on Sunday - Police cracks down on drones Top FM - Vol des drones : finies les images lors des rassemblements politiques et autres ?

Blogger Yashvin Awootar from yashvinblogs.com showed the 27Km coverage on his Facebook page.

The image speaks for itself, the coverage area is half of Mauritius.

Vlogger Reuben Pillay shared his concern about the 15 nautical miles “no-fly zone” for remote aircraft.

The press quotes the Police Press Office as having mentioned the 15 nautical miles restriction which is supposedly cited in the Civil Aviation (Amendment) Regulations 2016. I checked the police.govmu.org’s news section and there is nothing under 2016; neither anything on the Facebook page of the Mauritius Police Force.

Since the Civil Aviation (Amendment) Regulations is cited, I checked the Attorney General’s website and that of Airports of Mauritius Co. Ltd (AML). None of the websites have the 2016 regulations published.

However, AML replied promptly informing that they’re also waiting for a copy of the regulations to make the same available and suggested that I contact the Department of Civil Aviation. I checked the website of the Dept of Civil Aviation and they do not have the latest regulations either. I contacted them and now I await replies from the Attorney General and the Dept of Civil Aviation.

I shall write more about the regulations and offences once I get a copy of the Civil Aviation (Amendment) Regulations 2016.