5 minute read
Airways International and ENAV/D-Flight share their Drone Strategies
Learn about the similarities and differences
Air Navigation Service providers (ANSPs) around the world are addressing the integration of drone traffic into their airspace in many different ways. Global Airspace Radar had the opportunity to interview two ANSPs from different sides of the globe about their drone specific efforts.
Q: How does your organisation manage drone traffic?
AI: The AirShare uncrewed traffic management (UTM) system is a central part of the New Zealand UTM and wider airspace management ecosystem –supporting drone operators to understand airspace rules, efficiently obtain the necessary permissions for their operations, reduce the workload of air traffic controllers (ATCOs) and provide enhanced situational awareness.
The team works within Airways International, the commercial arm of Airways New Zealand, and maintains a strong, collaborative relationship with Airways to effectively manage New Zealand’s drone traffic. Working closely with ATCOs, they gain insights directly from users into the unique challenges they face in managing increasing drone activity.
DF: Since 2015, ENAV Group contributed its expertise to the U-space concept definition, also leading the way towards the publication of the “A6 Alliance Position on drones and the role of ANSPs in U-space”.
In March 2018 ENAV released a public version of its UTM business plan, with proposed charging rates for UTM services for both recreational and professional drone operators. Finally, in 2019, a public-private partnership, between ENAV and Leonardo, was established: D-Flight S.p.A. D-Flight is fully committed to the development of services enabling Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) operations and Innovative Air Mobility. We work closely with ENAV and the Italian Civil Aviation Authority (ENAC) in U-space deployment in Italy. In addition to providing UTM/U-space solutions, D-Flight is the first in Europe to be designated and certified as a Common Information Service Provider (CISP) as well as EU-certified U-space service provider (USSP).
Q: Are there other ANSPs leveraging your solution?
AI: Airways International offers the AirShare platform to international markets, with growing interest from a range of stakeholders. Within New Zealand, the platform is now being used by large landowners, unattended aerodromes, and municipalities to manage uncrewed aircraft (UA) operations in their own areas of responsibility.
DF: We are focused on the deployment in Italy as a starting point. The D-UTM platform enables seamless registration, identification and airspace awareness for drone operators. Fully compliant with EU Reg. 947/2019, it supports national UAS operator registries and lays the groundwork for U-space services and is suitable for nation-wide management of UAS traffic.
Q: Does your tool integrate with other systems?
AI: AirShare is designed to seamlessly integrate with other systems to enhance the safe and efficient management of drone operations. For example, UA fleet management platforms - FlyFreely and AVCRM, ensuring compliance with airspace rules. UA flight plan data is shared via Flight Advisor, New Zealand’s low-level airspace advisory tool.
DF: D-Flight developed an easy-to-use interoperability mechanism with external systems, enlarging the ecosystem around D-UTM and D-USS platforms, allowing others to integrate, taking advantage of digital exchanges to enable other services. We enabled several Fleet management/UAS Operating Systems/Ground Control Stations; demonstrating the possibility of dialogue with the authorities and other stakeholders.
Q: How will USSPs work with your solution?
AI: USSPs will be able to integrate to access services such as flight authorisation, conformance monitoring, weather data, geo-awareness and traffic information, all while continuing to use their own systems natively.
DF: D-Flight with the D-CIS platform is already in contact with several candidate USSPs for testing the CISP-USSP interoperability and ready for their accommodation.
Q: Are there specific aspects to address weather?
AI: AirShare supports pilots with access to accurate and timely weather information during flight planning — and even when reviewing a previously submitted flight plan — drone pilots can access AirShare’s weather service. Where available, it can source weather data from local providers, including enhanced microweather services, to give pilots more precise insights, especially in complex environments or low-level airspace.
DF: We are not yet certified as a Weather Information Service Provider, being an optional service in the existing U-space regulation, we are starting with the mandatory ones.
Q: Does your system support autonomous and / or Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flights?
AI: AirShare is closely following the rapid advancements in BVLOS and autonomous flight operations. The platform is already well-positioned to support these emerging applications.
DF: UTM/U-space and then D-flight solutions have been developed to support mainly routine UAS operations.
Q: Are there any other highlights you’d like to share?
AI: The platform now manages over 6,000 flights per month, with 70,000 users registered since its inception in 2014.
By streamlining the drone flight authorisation process and providing digital services to operators, thousands of phone calls to ATC have been eliminated, significantly reducing workload for controllers while improving safety and compliance for drone operators.
DF: We are at the starting point for deploying U-space in Europe. A lot is still to be studied, evaluated, demonstrated and deployed. D-flight is continuously working together with other key stakeholders to develop and improve solutions to provide best in class services to drone operators.
