Drone Laws in Saint Lucia

Saint Lucia Drone Regulations

According to St. Lucias’s national aviation authority, the Ministry of External Affairs, International Trade, Civil Aviation and Diaspora Affairs, flying a drone is legal in St. Lucia, but we recommend being aware of and compliant with the drone regulations listed below before doing so.

All inquiries about drone applications in St. Lucia should be sent to: dronerequest.stlucia@govt.lc or external@govt.lc

Why fly a drone in St. Lucia? To get great aerial shots like these! Image Source: Андрей Бобровский

General Rules for Flying a Drone in St. Lucia

Based on our research and interpretation of the laws, here are the most important rules to know for flying a drone in St. Lucia.

• Drone operators must apply with the Civil Aviation Department in the Ministry of Economic Development, Urban Renewal, Housing, Transport and Civil Aviation, for approval to operate a drone in St. Lucia for any purpose.
• Drone operators who are visiting the island must declare their drone to Customs and declare that the drone will return home with them.
• Drone operators cannot fly within a three-mile radius of the George F. L. Charles Airport in Castries and Hewanorra International Airport in Vieux Fort, it is considered a No Drone Zone (Commercial opperators who want to fly within a No Drone Zone must request permission, applications are considered on a case-by-case basis).
• Flights outside the no drone zones or three-mile radius of airports, but within a five-mile radius of the airports, must contact the air traffic control (ATC) tower at the nearest airport and report their location and duration of flight.
• Flights outside the five-mile radius of airports may contact the air traffic control (ATC) tower.

These are the only policies we’ve been able to find about drone laws for Saint Lucia in our research.

The following information should be provided when making such application:

• The name and contact details of the applicant;
• The name and contact details of the pilot, if not the applicant;
• The manufacturer, model and serial number of the drone;
• The purpose for which the drone will be used; and
• The details as it relates to the location the drone will be used, date/s, time and duration of the operation/s.

Applications should be made in writing and addressed to the:

Permanent Secretary
5th Level
Baywalk
Rodney Bay
Gros Islet
SAINT LUCIA

All inquiries about drone applications should be sent to: dronerequest.stlucia@govt.lc or external@govt.lc.

Additionally, a good rule of thumb for flying in Saint Lucia would be to follow these rules for flying your drone (these rules are taken from the U.S.’s Federal Aviation Administration’s rules for flying a drone):

• Avoid flying within five miles of an airport
• Keep the drone within visual line-of-sight
• Fly at or below 400 feet
• Fly during daylight or civil twilight
• Fly at or under 100 mph
• Yield right of way to manned aircraft
• Do not fly directly over people
• Do not fly from a moving vehicle, unless in a sparsely populated area

It is important to note that Helicopters may fly at low altitudes over the coastline or the island, always remain vigilant of manned air traffic and always operate with extreme caution.

Know something we don’t about drone laws in Saint Lucia? Send us an email at support[at]horizonap[dot]com. We are not international aviation attorneys and do our best to keep this page up-to-date for drone pilots, but the reality is that given the pace of the small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) industry and how governments are responding, drone regulations in Saint Lucia can change throughout the year, and those changes can be hard to track. If we missed something, please reach out to let us know.