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ella
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Packed a Mini 4 - will customs take the drone at CMB?

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R
Ren Takahashi•227 rep•2

Want the Nine Arch and tea-country aerials. Some blogs say "just fly under 250g". Others say CAASL + Defence, 3 weeks, even for a Mini. Flight is in 10 days. Too late?

2
ellaphotography

4 Answers from travellers

✓Accepted Answer

Tourist drones are not "import for sale" but you do need flight approval on the CAASL portal (portal.caa.lk/drone). They route security clearance to Defence. Tourists use the flying-approval portal, not the permanent-import flowchart. Portal copy says approval within 10 working days - 10 days before wheels-down is already tight. One 2026 write-up mentioned fees around LKR 16,000, I have not seen that invoice myself. Daylight, VLOS, altitude caps people quote 100-120 m, obey the permit. No airports (5 km), no military, no national parks, no crowds. Sigiriya needs extra CCF paper. Nine Arch at train time is a crowd, bad place to test the law.

10
H
Himaya Rathnayake•1410 rep•1

Mini 2 got pulled from my bag at CMB because I had no printout. Left it at the hotel after that. Not worth a fine.

7
H
Holly Crowe•164 rep•2

If you have no approval, leave it in checked luggage and do not assemble it. Seriously.

5
Y
Yashodha Cooray•1195 rep•1

Apply tonight if you still want to try. Otherwise enjoy Nine Arch from the ground like the rest of us.

4
I
Iker Soler•175 rep•1

Scam Watch: ella

Train Ticket Reseller ScamVerified

People outside stations offer to "help" buy tickets but charge large markups. They may buy cheap third-class tickets and sell as more expensive classes.

👍 15•by virajperera
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