British Airfield Implements Traffic Management Software

Altitude Angel, a Unified Traffic Management suite, is set to deploy at the UK's Leeds Bradford International Airport, allowing local controllers to oversee UAV and eVTOL ops as those traffic niches grow.

The Altitude Angel Approval Services platform helps drone operators to streamline and plan out their flights with minimal fuss, simply plugging in their course and filing them before takeoff to give controllers a good idea of the traffic path to come. Outgoing Aviation Minister Baroness Vere, said the suite, and those like it would be "a key step to the UK achieving its ambitious outcomes we are setting through the Future of Flight Industry Group." The easier it is for drone pilots to submit flight plans set for action in the purview of an airport's airspace, the more likely it is for controllers to plan operations to avoid any inconvenience to crewed aircraft and passenger operations.

Jamie Babbin, Leeds Bradford Airport Operations Manager, said the airport really needs the software to start taming their traffic snarl. "Surrounded by a number of towns, villages and industrial estates, the airport has been dealing with an increasing number of requests to fly within the FRZ from both commercial and recreational drone operators. The Approval Services platform allows us to receive all required information from the drone operator in an easy-to-use format, enabling us to quickly assess and decide whether we can allow the flight, or need to request an amendment to the flight plan before approving it."

Chris Forster, Altitude Angel Chief Operating Officer, said the relationship was a natural given the Leeds Bradford culture. "As a forward-thinking airport, Leeds Bradford Airport is laying the digital foundation stones for future airspace users. Whilst drone operators will be the first to benefit from this deployment, the use of the platform will scale as UAM services come on-line."

FMI: www.altitudeangel.com