Drone Laws in Abu Dhabi: What You Must Know in 2025
The UAE launched the UAE Drone One-Stop Platform, drones.gov.ae, in late 2024 to centralize pilot and drone registration, flight approvals, training information, and incident reporting, with full cross-emirate rollout by mid-2025. Abu Dhabi’s Department of Municipalities and Transport issued Administrative Decision No. 48 of 2024 on April 5, 2024, regulating civil drone use in the emirate and designating DMT as the local authority issuing permits and flight rules. On January 7, 2025, the GCAA, coordinated with MOI, lifted the recreational drone ban for individuals, allowing hobbyists to fly in Abu Dhabi if trained and issued a permit, while Dubai maintained