Airservices Australia to create drone air traffic system
The Australian government agency has appointed Frequentis Australasia to develop a new flight information management system (FIMS)
Airservices Australia’s new FIMS system is intended to allow for the “seamless” incorporation of drones, air taxis and other uncrewed aircraft into Australian airspace.
The upgrade is intended to support a projected surge in drone operators over the next 20 years. Airservices Australia predicts that drone flights will rise from around 1.5 million at present to over 60 million by 2043.
The FIMS will serve as the core of Australia’s uncrewed aircraft systems traffic management (UTM) ecosystem, and will enable Airservices Australia to share flight information between conventional and uncrewed aircraft, as well as with air traffic control.
“Drones are the biggest growth area in aviation and our partnership with Frequentis to develop a FIMS will enable us to integrate traditional and new airspace users into increasingly busy airspace,” said Jason Harfield, CEO of Airservices Australia. “I’m confident the new FIMS will encourage the growing drone market to reach its full potential in Australia.”
Drones are becoming an increasingly useful tool for emergency service providers, including for search and rescue, aerial firefighting, and police surveillance.
Frequentis was also previously awarded a similar contract by Lithuanian air traffic controller Oro Navigacija in June of last year.
Oliver Cuenca
Oliver Cuenca is a Junior Editor at AirMed&Rescue. He was previously a News and Features Journalist for the rail magazine IRJ until 2021, and studied MA Magazine Journalism at Cardiff University. His favourite helicopter is the AW169 – the workhorse of the UK air ambulance sector! He also led the creation of Waypoint: The AirMed&Rescue podcast, serving as its Production Editor and co-host.