Danish air navigation service provider service Naviair is reorganising the company’s drone-related activities. From 1 April 2023, the company’s Operations Department will handle all tasks in the area of drones. The Operations Department is Naviair’s main department for general air traffic services, flight management and developments concerning traffic in the entire Danish airspace.
The development coincides with the end of a special grant dating back to the 2019 Finance Act which released DKK25 million as part of the aviation package from 2020 with the aim of strengthening the drone infrastructure in Denmark and associated green potential.
In the period 2019-22, Naviair has carried out a number of development activities in the drone area. Amongst these, Naviair developed droneluftrum.dk and a number of other network and infrastructure activities under the leadership of a special UTM development unit.
Droneluftrum.dk will continue unchanged until 1 April 2023 when Naviair, together with the Danish Transport Agency, will explain how data and functions from droneluftrum.dk will be continued.
Business Development Director Christian Clemmensen for Naviair UTM outlined the progress achieved over the past three years on LinkedIn:
- We have positioned the company as a key player in the drone industry with a clear market position and as a sought-after partner among private companies, public authorities and the research community
- We have worked to build an infrastructure for drones in Danish airspace
- We developed and operated the platform dkfor the benefit of 60,000+ monthly users who have been able to plan their drone operations in Danish airspace for free
- We, together with the industry, have professionalized the way of operating drones
- We have brought together the drone industry’s and aviation’s players and led the way in developing procedures, legislation and technology to realise the commercial and societal potential of drone technology and to increase flight safety for existing airspace users.
The progress is accompanied by challenges: “We have executed our strategy for Denmark’s infrastructure for drones while navigating between new legislation, new technology and new market opportunities. We have managed to drive change management in a conservative — but pragmatic — aviation industry, which in the coming years will undergo major changes in line with the development of electric and unmanned aviation.” Christian Clemmensen also emphasised the importance of continued commercial development of drone operations following the change.
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