so this happened a few days ago and im still kind of processing it. was on holiday in Mallorca, found this quiet little cove that looked absolutely perfect, set up to fly and some guy comes over saying i need a permit and that the whole coastline is restricted. he wasnt official or anything just a local who seemed pretty confident about it.

i checked dronescout before i went and it showed green. packed up anyway because didnt want a scene but now im wondering if he was just wrong or if there actually is something specific to the balearic islands that i missed. anyone flown in that area and know whats actually going on with the rules there?

Spain is a mess for this tbh. the national rules say one thing, autonomous communities sometimes have their own stuff layered on top, and then individual municipalities add more on top of that. the Balearics have been tightening up on coastal flying for a while now, something to do with protected marine zones i think. so the guy might have actually been right even if he wasnt official.

dronescout and similar apps dont always catch the local municipal stuff, ive been caught out by this before in Catalonia. your best bet is literally just googling the specific town name plus drone regulations in spanish. tedious but it works.

ugh i hate when this happens. half the time people just make stuff up because they dont like drones near them. but also half the time they're actually right which is the annoying part because you cant really tell in the moment. i just smile and pack up now, not worth the stress on holiday