For the first time, a drone flight took place in the controlled airspace around Brussels Airport, with active deconfliction between ATM (Air Traffic Management for traditional crewed aviation) and UTM (for uncrewed aviation). skeyes, in its role as Common Information Service Provider (CISP), and SkeyDrone, as a drone operator and U-space Service Provider (USSP), exchanged data to enable the airspace to remain active for traditional crewed aviation while simultaneously integrating a drone flight safely.
The drone took off from the twelfth floor of the Living Tomorrow Innovation Campus in Vilvoorde. The flight was the result of a collaboration between Belgian air navigation service provider skeyes, SkeyDrone, Living Tomorrow and DroneLand. The operation marked a significant step in the safe integration of crewed and uncrewed aviation within the Controlled Traffic Region (CTR) of an international airport. The drone was remotely controlled and crossed the Brussels Ring Road four times. The control signal for the uncrewed aircraft came from the SkeyDrone control room, located in Steenokkerzeel, 13 kilometres from Living Tomorrow.
Johan Decuyper, CEO of skeyes said the flight proves readiness for the next step with drones for beyond visual line of sight operations near complex airspaces around airports. “The experiences gained here contribute to a workable ecosystem where economically relevant applications for unmanned aviation are possible, without compromising the safety and efficiency of traditional aviation.”
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