UK plans to integrate drones into skies in airspace revamp

The British aviation regulator will incorporate nascent technologies such as air taxis and drones as it develops plans to modernize the nation’s airspace by 2040. 

The UK Civil Aviation Authority set out the key activities and milestones that it says the industry will need to deliver on as it builds a regulatory framework that addresses new technologies, according to a statement Thursday. 

“This includes projects looking at how new airspace users, such as drones and vertical take-off and landing aircraft, can fly safely in the same airspace as other aircraft,” the regulator said in a statement on its website.

A swathe of electrically-powered flying taxi and drone startups have emerged in recent years that are racing to certify their aircraft and begin commercial operations. However, older airspace control practices may hamper that push.   

The CAA says it will modernize the UK’s airspace by 2040 — and has already begun work on some areas, according to the statement. The regulator will collaborate with the Airspace Change Organising Group, the Ministry of Defence and air traffic provider NATS Enroute Ltd. in executing the plan, according to the statement.