Birmingham
The Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Birmingham Christmas Market) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/1159), made on 2 November and in force from Friday 6 November, bar unmanned aircraft from flying below 1,500 feet above mean sea level within a defined area in the vicinity of Birmingham, where the annual Christmas Markets take place. The ban applies from 14:00 to 23:00 UTC on a Friday and Saturday over seven weekends: 6 and 7 November, 13 and 14 November, 20 and 21 November, 27 and 28 November, 4 and 5 December, 11 and 12 December, and 18 and 19 December. The first weekend, 6 and 7 November, has passed, and six weekends remain. In November and December UTC is the same as UK time. The one exception in the text is an unmanned aircraft flying with the permission of the West Midlands Police Counter-UAS Team. The instrument says the Secretary of State for Transport decided the restriction was necessary in the public interest because of the intended gathering of a large number of people, and its explanatory note says it is for public safety and security and that full details will follow by briefing sheet and NOTAM. It does not state a penalty, and we did not plot the area, which is given as a list of latitude and longitude points. This is The Ops Con's reading, not the Department for Transport's: teams that use drones for site surveys or filming in that area on those days need the police permission or another plan. A separate instrument, SI 2026/1169, restricted all aircraft below 2,500 feet within two nautical miles of a point in Hampstead between 17:30 and 22:30 UTC on Thursday 5 November, with exemptions that include police, medical and coastguard aircraft. It has expired, and it gives no reason beyond the public interest.
Botswana
The FCDO updated its Botswana advice on 6 November. Its change note says: "Updated information about the documents needed when travelling with children (see 'Travelling with children' on the 'Entry requirements' page)." The page says: "You must carry the original or a certified copy of the full birth certificate for any child aged 17 or under entering or leaving Botswana." It adds that a child travelling with one parent, a guardian, another adult or alone should carry the required parental consent or documents showing authority to travel, and, where consent is required, a certified copy of the consenting parent's passport or identity document. The change note does not say which parts of this text are new. For teams moving a principal's family through Botswana, this is the document check to run before travel. This is The Ops Con's reading.
