The use of flying drones with mounted cameras has been banned with immediate effect in South Africa by the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA).
This makes it illegal for any TV news operations, productions doing film shoots, people shooting documentaries, TV series using remote flying cameras or ad or film agencies wanting to film scenic promos.
SACAA issued an immediate prohibition on the use of flying camera drones in South Africa, with no further permits which will be issued.
SACAA says the ban of all so-called "unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's)" with cameras in South Africa is due to a lack of regulations guiding its use and that more time is necessary to understand its use, as well as to come up with an outline of how these camera drones could be incorporated into the civil aviation sector.
"There is ongoing global research in this area to overcome this deficiency," says Kabelo Ledwaba, SACAA communications manager.
"South Africa runs the risk of losing production activities to other areas who approve the use of camera drones," says Denis Lillie, the chief executive of the Cape Town Film Commission (CFC).
"The ban will not only affect feature films, but also tourism promotion agencies often looking for aerial shots."
