Drone photo & video

Argentina’s drone rules do not bar foreign drones: RAAC Part 100 accepts a registration issued by the civil aviation authority of any ICAO member state, and a drone under 250 g falls outside the rules altogether. Paid work is a separate question, because Ley de Migraciones 25.871 does not let a visitor admitted as a tourist work for pay without authorisation from the Dirección Nacional de Migraciones. That is why every drone photo and video session booked here is flown by a pilot who works in Argentina.

Under RAAC Parts 100 and 101, a drone in the Open category stays below 400 ft (about 122 m) above the ground in uncontrolled airspace, in the pilot’s sight, outside every aerodrome control zone (CTR) and outside prohibited, restricted and danger areas. In controlled airspace within 5 km of a runway threshold the ceiling drops to 43 m, and the Casa Rosada, the Quinta de Olivos, embassies and public buildings are off limits without authorisation, which the pilot checks for each drone photo and video location.

Los Glaciares, Iguazú, Nahuel Huapi and every other national park follow the Administración de Parques Nacionales (APN), whose drone regulation bans recreational flights and requires prior written APN authorisation for any project. Approved flights are daylight only, one drone at a time and at least 30 m from visitors, and the APN filming rules ask for the request 20 business days ahead, so a drone photo and video session inside a national park is quoted only once the APN has answered.

RAAC Part 101 does not let a drone fly over a person who is not taking part in the flight and has not consented to it, and Part 100 rules out flying over any crowd. In a busy plaza in Buenos Aires or on a summer beach in Mar del Plata that means an early start, a quieter stretch, or framing from the water side, which is why most drone photo and video sessions in cities are booked around sunrise.

Wind can ground a small drone at height even when it feels calm on the ground, and in Patagonia — El Calafate, El Chaltén, Ushuaia — strong gusts are a normal afternoon. The pilot makes that call on the spot for safety. Whether a grounded drone photo and video session moves to another date or changes shape is agreed in writing before booking, so the answer is known before the day.