Steenokkerzeel, 13 March 2024 – Belgian Air Navigation Service Provider skeyes and Belgian Defence will be launching the Drone & Aerial Activities platform in the coming weeks. This state-of-the art new digital platform, developed by SkeyDrone, will revolutionize the approval process for special air activities including survey flights, parachutes, fireworks and more taking place within controlled airspace.
Building upon the success of the Drone Service Application implemented in 2021, the Drone & Aerial Activities platform now complements Belgium’s lower airspace and traffic management strategy, ensuring the safe integration of both drones and special air activities. Through strategic deconfliction, collisions between uncrewed traffic and special activities within controlled airspace will be mitigated, guaranteeing the safety of all airspace users.
Annually, skeyes and Defence receive approximately 1,000 requests for special air activities, managed by a team of four civil and military experts in the Special Activities Coordination Cell. With the introduction of the Drone & Aerial Activities platform, this process will undergo a significant transformation, now featuring streamlined and semi-automated approval processes. The platform offers a digital workflow, integrated rule engine, automatic altitude conversion, and multi-stakeholder authorization capabilities.
Peggy Devestel, Chief Operating Officer at skeyes, remarked, “The implementation of the Drone & Aerial Activities platform marks a significant milestone in simplifying the special air activity approval process, benefiting both requesters and approvers by enhancing efficiency.”
LtKol Nancy Lesire, Base Commander of the Air Traffic Control Center (ATCC), underlines, “The implementation of the Drone & Aerial Activities platform is a considerable achievement for all stakeholders. It will ensure a more efficient and transparent coordination, facilitating a smoother handling of both military and civilian special activity requests.”
Hendrik-Jan Van Der Gucht, Managing Director at SkeyDrone, emphasized, “As the volume of drones in the airspace continues to rise, the implementation of the Drone & Aerial Activities platform will contribute to the safety of all lower airspace users. This implementation reaffirms our position as a comprehensive Lower Airspace Authorization Platform provider.”
About skeyes
skeyes ensures the safety and efficiency of air traffic in Belgium 24/7. The skeyes air traffic controllers manage over 3,000 aircraft every day, which makes up over a million flight movements per year. The autonomous public company is active at the heart of Europe, in one of the busiest and most complex sections of airspace of the continent. skeyes is active at Brussels Airport and at the airports of Antwerp, Charleroi, Kortrijk, Liège and Ostend. The company relies on its nearly 900 experienced staff members who are at the service of their customers: airline companies, airports, the aviation sector and the authorities.
About SkeyDrone
SkeyDrone is a joint venture between the Belgian Air Navigation Service Provider skeyes and Brussels Airport Company. The company’s mission is to provide end-to-end solutions for business needs related to the use of uncrewed aircraft (drones). SkeyDrone offers solutions for lower airspace monitoring, management of and protection against drones for authorities and geo-zone managers, UTM/U-space & consultancy services for drone operators and business integration services for companies. Playing a pivotal role in the implementation of U-space in Belgium, SkeyDrone is on track to make history by becoming one of the first U-space service providers in Europe.
About ATCC
The ATCC (Air Traffic Control Center) is a military unit, located at the premises of skeyes. The unit supports the operations of the Air Component by delivering air traffic services, managing the Belgian airspace in a flexible and dynamic way, disseminating aeronautical information and providing specific courses and training in the domain of air traffic management. In close cooperation with the national and international civil partners, ATCC guarantees daily the flight safety of the military flights in Belgium.
