Austria launches drone traffic management system
Frequentis has announced the successful integration of drones into Austria’s air traffic management systems
The company worked in partnership with airspace management agency Austro Control to implement the new system, called Austro Control Dronespace. The system is currently in the process of being launched.
The system will enable ‘digital drone flight planning and flight clearances in real time’. It will also provide drone pilots with ‘comprehensive situational awareness of other flights in their vicinity’, as well as ‘all information relevant to aviation law regarding geo zones and airspace restrictions’.
Drone technology is growing rapidly in popularity – including with emergency response providers and medical logistics. However, as this surge in popularity continues, improvements are required to manage the increase in traffic.
It is hoped that Dronespace will allow for more transparency on planned drone flights and simplify the process for Austro Control’s air traffic controllers.
A phased rollout
The rollout will be conducted in phases throughout this month. On 10 October, the operator registration and Quick-Check functions will be activated on the desktop version of the platform. The app will then become available for download on 20 October.
From 24 October, drone pilots will be able to carry out digital flight plan filing and approval digitally via dronespace.at – previously, these processes had to be carried out by telephone.
“We are laying an important cornerstone for the safe coexistence of crewed and uncrewed aviation in the controlled airspace and are thus further increasing safety in the vicinity of airports,” said Philipp Piber, Managing Director at Austro Control.
“The common goal of Austro Control and Frequentis is to ultimately provide other organisations with security-relevant tasks access to the nationwide uncrewed traffic management (UTM) system; those in the field of public safety and critical infrastructure would also benefit from access to the system,” added Norbert Haslacher, CEO of Frequentis.
Frequentis also announced in June that it was working with Oro Navigacija to implement a similar drone traffic management system in Lithuania.
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.