Baku: Drone Footage, Security Clearances, and the Secret Service

Last updated: March 2026

My journey to Baku started with a rivalry. I had filmed a drone video in Yerevan - a trip that came about because one of my clients, an Armenian entrepreneur running a mushroom plantation in Ras Al Khaimah, invited me to explore his hometown after we closed a business deal together. That trip produced a drone video that I posted on YouTube. My Azeri friends in Dubai saw it and arranged everything - the invitation, the permits, the security clearances - offering to showcase the city from a unique perspective. But the mission was far from easy.

A Country Where You Cannot Bring Your Own Drone

Azerbaijan has restricted the import of drones since 2003, and there are still no clear regulations for private or recreational drone use. Travellers regularly report having equipment confiscated at Baku airport. I could not bring my own drones into the country.

Instead, I had to use a drone provided by my host - an older generation model I was not familiar with. I was accompanied by a local guide, and at every location, before every takeoff, he had to call ahead and obtain security permission. The process was the same each time: phone call, wait, sometimes a confrontation, then clearance. At one location, I sat in the car for 45 minutes waiting for approval while my guide negotiated with the authorities.

This was not the kind of shoot where you land somewhere scenic, send the drone up, and see what happens. Every flight was a negotiaton.

The City Behind the Red Tape

When we did get airborne, Baku delivered. The city sits on the western coast of the Caspian Sea and has been transforming itself since Azerbaijan’s independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. Oil wealth has funded an architectural overhaul that few cities can match - the Flame Towers, a trio of skyscrapers shaped like fire, dominate the skyline, while the Heydar Aliyev Center, a 57,500-square-metre cultural complex designed by Zaha Hadid, has become one of the most photographed buildings in the region. It won Design of the Year in 2014.

The Secret Service Reviews My YouTube Video

After the shoot, I completed the edit and prepared to upload the video to YouTube. But before I could make it public, my Azeri friends in Dubai introduced an unexpected final step. The video, they explained, needed to be reviewed by the Secret Service.

This was a precautionary step my hosts considered non-negotiable. The footage went through a screening process before it was cleared for publication. Eventually, after clearing every hurdle - the permits, the security checks, the 45-minute waits, and the Secret Service - I uploaded the video. It surpassed 100,000 views.

For a shoot that required more permissions than most film productions, the result made it worth the paperwork.