Filming in Malta - tips, ideas, safety ?

[kalmargyula]

Hello, within a week together with a colleague we are planning a trip to Malta (8 days).

We will have our filming gear because we want to shoot some places around both islands.

Anybody with local experience or recent trip to Malta who used his drone for filming ?

- what should I be aware other than the obvious common sense and safety rules (had been in Greece, UAE and other EU countries without legal or safety incidents)
- are there any specific rules in Malta that apply to aerial filming ?
- how do authorities or police handle any drone related issues ?

Thanks a lot !

 

[firepol]

Hi @kalmargyula I'm going to Malta as well, for Easter, and was researching about laws too.

I found a public Malta drone owners group on facebook and I searched it for laws. See question by Maciej Swic and answers in the comments:

"There's a height restriction of 120mtrs unless it has been changed and you can't fly over large groups of people 12 or more, hospitals, powerstations, and stables as horses are sometimes frightened by the drone, avoid private properties if possible"

And: "But the reality right now is just to use your brain and consider airport exclusion zone important." (see map)
I'll be staying at Silema, near Valletta, which looks like a prohibited area to fly drones.

North West, outside of the red circle looks good to go... but I'm not sure I'll take my drone with me (5 days, maybe I'll just relax for this time)...

Have a good trip

UPDATE: if you've already been there, please share your info/inside tricks, thanks

 

[kalmargyula]

We've just returned from Malta. We had an 8 day stay. First few days I was scouting then we had a few flights. Everything was fine, no one actually cared. Apply common senses and do not look for trouble ( I took of one day in Sliema and I was getting interference and a series of compass errors - nothing like that before or after - rest of flights were almost all above sea, near the shore or around rocks / cliffs ). So if you want to film towns I would film that from the sea from where you are not obstructed by anything. Avoid crowds and obviously do not take off near police. Probably you will not get in trouble anyway, just ask to not fly, since as far as I know there is no specific law and permits are given on an individual basis (read that on the net), but anyway why attract unwanted attention when you can fly discretely.

So if you don't push your luck I believe Malta is both safe and a relax place to fly, something similar to Greece I believe. Pay attention to UNESCO world heritage sites, we had issues with such sites in Greece, so they may have an issue if you fly around them. Pay attention to strong winds around cliffs and to the restriction area around the airport. Have a nice time !

 

[firepol]

Thanks @kalmargyula for the feedback. It'll for sure help me and others to get a better idea about Malta. If you publish your video(s) about Malta, feel free to share, I'm curious about the results. Btw what kind of drone did you use? Cheers

 

[kalmargyula]

I am already working on the footage, it will be a combination of ground dynamic and drone shots. Will share it definitely. I used a Phantom 3 Pro with ND and PL filters and was able to get amazing shots. For occasional strong winds in the spring I would recommend something stronger, but the P3S did it's job greatly