News Story Picture credit - Solent Transport

The south of England will soon be home to the UK’s first commercial drone highway in the sky. Drones will be able to operate beyond the pilot’s line of sight with onboard technology taking the responsibility of preventing collisions.

Altitude Angels who are developing the initiative, say that they will hire out the zone to operators. The actual airspace  comprises an 8km long, 500m wide corridor and it is located just south of Reading in Berkshire. They are confident that the detect and avoid system that they have designed will make operation safe for everyone and they feel that successful trials here could herald the next era of airspace management.

Drone deliveries have long been looked to as fulfilling a huge amount of potential within the industry. They could alleviate the problems of road congestion and allow the public to expand an online shopping habit that has only grown during the Covid 19 pandemic. Medical supplies and emergency service support are likely to be amongst the first beneficiaries of a sky borne delivery system. Solent transport have already made significant headway in this regard, read more here: https://www.solent-transport.com/news/item/drones-will-be-used-to-transport-medical-supplies-across-the-solent-to-support-the-response-to-covid-19

Altitude Angels state that their ultimate goal is to licence the technology for us in other areas, establishing a countrywide aerial transport network that mirror the establishment of the rail network. Tesco are pioneering deliveries in County Galway offering almost immediate goods delivery truly bringing UAVs into the most domestic of tasks.

With new housing and commercial properties already being constructed with vertiports, it seems that the Altitude Angels are not alone in feeling that drone deliveries will play a significant part in the future of UK trading.