Pathways to Unsegregated Sharing of Airspace: Views of the Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Industry

Abstract

The uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV or drone) industry is expanding, offering services such as video/photography, inspection, monitoring, surveying, and logistics. This is leading to competing demands for airspace with existing crewed aircraft activities, especially in uncontrolled airspace. As a result, there is an increasingly urgent need for a shared airspace solution that enables drones to be integrated with the wider aviation community in unsegregated operations. The purpose of this research was to engage with the drone industry to understand their issues regarding shared airspace as an important first step in the co-development of operating procedures that can provide equitable airspace access for all. An online, interactive workshop format was employed, with participants (n ~ 80) drawn from the UK drone industry and other attendant organisations. Verbal and written data were recorded, and then analysed using thematic analysis. The findings summarise the issues on a range of topics, grouped into three over-arching themes: (1) operational environment; (2) technical and regulatory environment; and (3) equity and wider society. Results suggested that important issues included the necessity for a dependable detect-and-avoid (DAA) system for in-flight de-confliction, based on onboard electronic conspicuity (EC) devices, and the need for support for shared airspace from the wider aviation community. This study contributes to the stakeholder engagement that will be essential if the co-development of a shared airspace solution is to be widely acceptable to all.

Civilian UAV Deployment Framework in Qatar

“…The airworthiness of an aircraft or an aircraft component refers to whether it meets the requirements for safe flight, within allowable limits. There is a particular emphasis on three essential elements: safe conditions, compliance with required criteria and acceptable limitations [30,31].…”

Integrating drones into NHS patient diagnostic logistics systems: Flight or fantasy?

“…Often, airspace is less congested in developing countries and with more sparsely populated areas, UAV operations present fewer safety concerns to regulators which has led to such regions becoming test beds for UAV services [ 8 ]. The integration of UAVs into medical logistics in more developed countries has been somewhat slower, largely resulting from the strict airspace management legislation which dictates that beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flying requires specific permissions which are often granted to the detriment of other airspace users via temporary restricted flight corridors (Temporary Danger Areas, TDAs in the UK) [ 9 ]. In November 2020, Matternet announced their intention to implement routine UAV services to support pathology services across a network of hospitals in Berlin [ 10 ], but despite aspirations for wider development, very few commercial services exist.…”

Are Drones Safer Than Vans?: A Comparison of Routing Risk in Logistics

“…Specifically in the UK, there are two ways in which drone companies can operate services [13,14]. The first requires that they stay below a height of 400 ft above ground, away from airports and uncontrolled crowds as well as remaining within Visual Line of Sight (VLoS) of a safety pilot, who is able to take over control at all times.…”

“…The first requires that they stay below a height of 400 ft above ground, away from airports and uncontrolled crowds as well as remaining within Visual Line of Sight (VLoS) of a safety pilot, who is able to take over control at all times. These restrictions make a viable logistics operation very difficult to establish [13,14]. The alternative is for the drone platform to undergo additional airworthiness scrutiny by the NAA and for the operator apply for an exclusive volume of airspace, called a "Temporary Danger Area" (TDA) in the UK.…”

“…Currently, in order to fly Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLoS) in the UK a TDA must be established [13,14], primarily because separation cannot be reliably ensured with other aircraft. As a result, there is strong interest in solving this problem and eliminating the need for TDAs.…”