Wed, May 17, 2017
Canada's Edmonton International Airport To Incorporate Robird And Integrated Drone Solutions
Edmonton International Airport ("EIA") will be the first ever airport in the world to integrate a full suite of unmanned aerial system ("UAS") services into their daily airport operations. Starting in Q2 of 2017, Clear Flight Solutions ("CFS") and AERIUM Analytics ("AERIUM") will focus on safely integrating UAS technology at EIA. The primary focus will be on enhancing EIA's Wildlife Management Plan while supporting continued growth of the Edmonton Metro Region's aerotropolis.

The Wildlife Management Plan will integrate CFS's Robird technology to guide birds safely away from air traffic, while discouraging nesting near airside operations and glide paths. The Robird has been proven around the globe to be an effective, ecologically-friendly method of bird control. The high-tech Robird mimics the flight of an actual falcon in realistic fashion, making its flight behavior so indistinguishable from its natural counterpart that other birds believe that their natural enemy is present in the area.
"This is truly a historic moment for our company but especially for the entire aviation industry," says Nico Nijenhuis, CEO of Clear Flight Solutions. "We currently operate our Robirds in a variety of places, but taking the step towards full integration within daily operations at an airport is huge. For years, there has been a lot of interest from airports. To now officially start integrating our operations at a major Canadian airport is absolutely fantastic."
As part of the integrated suite of services, CFS AERIUM will be providing UAS mapping and inspections services to support EIA's maintenance programs and future economic development efforts. These operations will continue from the flight missions that have been diligently conducted prior to this release. The missions were completed to satisfy Safety and Hazard Identification Risk Assessments requirements in addition to demonstrating competency. UAS missions have been conducted under tight supervision within 1,300 feet of active runways. CFS AERIUM will continue working towards full integration into airside operations in a professional, safe, and effective manner.
"The partnership between AERIUM Analytics and Clear Flight Solutions is exactly the types of companies and solutions we look to foster under the Alberta Aerospace and Technology Center. We look forward to supporting and promoting this incredible integration of UAS services into airport operations around North America." said Myron Keehn, VP of Commercial Development at EIA.
(Source: AERIUM Analytics; Clear Flight Solutions news release. Image provided)
More News
Terminal Radar Service Area Airspace surrounding designated airports wherein ATC provides radar vectoring, sequencing, and separation on a full-time basis for all IFR and participa>[...]
Aero Linx: Utah Back Country Pilots Association (UBCP) Through the sharing experiences, the UBCP has built upon a foundation of safe operating practices in some of the most challen>[...]
From 2010 (YouTube Edition): Imagine... Be The Change... Inspire FROM 2010: One of the more unusual phone calls I have ever received occurred a few years ago... from Anousheh Ansar>[...]
(Pilot) Felt A Shudder And Heard The Engine Sounding Differently, Followed By The Engine Chip Detector Light On April 14, 2025, about 1800 Pacific daylight time, a Bell 206B, N1667>[...]
Also: AMA Names Tyler Dobbs, More Falcon 9 Ops, Firefly Launch Unsuccessful, Autonomous F-16s The Air Force has begun ground testing a future uncrewed jet design in a milestone tow>[...]