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Source: Airways New Zealand
Headline: Airways launches inaugural drone report
New Zealand’s drone services market is taking off but safety is a major concern according to a new state of the industry report released today by Airways. Based on a national survey of drone operators, the report provides an in-depth look at how drones are being used both recreationally and commercially in New Zealand, the health of drone safety, and the value of our growing commercial drone market.
Source: Airways New Zealand
Headline: Invercargill gets NZ’s first digital air traffic control tower
Invercargill Airport will be the first airport in New Zealand to have its air traffic control tower replaced with a digital system operated from a remote location. Air Navigation Services Provider Airways today issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) seeking a supplier of digital tower technology for Invercargill.
Source: Airways New Zealand
Headline: Airways concerned about an increasing drone sightings in controlled airspace.
Air traffic control organisation Airways New Zealand says it is concerned about an increasing number of drone sightings in controlled airspace.
CEO Graeme Sumner says, “Over the past year we have received reports of at least one drone per week operating illegally in controlled airspace. Air traffic control technology is currently unable to detect small objects such as drones so we rely on drone operators to follow the rules and register with us before they fly to ensure all aircraft are integrated safely into our airspace.
“Drone detection technology is still in its infancy globally but Airways has been actively looking for solutions and we plan to begin trialling a new system within the next three months.”
Airways has operated the airshare.co.nz website for four years, allowing drone operators to request flight clearances from air traffic control and providing information on where they can fly safely. In that time the number of drone flights logged with the system has increased from 30 to 600 per week with more than 7,000 users registered.
Drone operators in the Canterbury and Queenstown area can also join Airways’ AirMap trial – a free iOS and Android app, which they can access to seek necessary airspace and public landowner approvals to fly, file flight plans, and access real-time information about other aircraft in the area.
Airways urges all drone users to register with airshare.co.nz and log their flights before they fly.
For further information please contact:
Emily Davies, Head of Public Affairs
P: 021 438 243
Source: Airways New Zealand
Headline: Airways welcomes Zephyr flying taxi to New Zealand airspace
Airways today announced it is piloting future technologies needed to support the arrival of autonomous flying vehicles in New Zealand airspace. This follows confirmation by Zephyr Airworks that it will develop and test its air taxi, called Cora, in New Zealand.
The air navigation services provider will develop a nationwide unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) traffic management system, known as UTM, to enable drone activity across New Zealand airspace as well as integrate these vehicles safely into the national air traffic network.
Airways CEO Graeme Sumner says, “There is no doubt that technology is evolving and Airways’ role is to enable safe and flexible access to our airspace to allow these new industries to thrive.
“New Zealand’s regulatory environment and relatively uncongested airspace make us an attractive option for new operators. We are looking for ways to safely support more complex operations and facilitate new entrants, including the Zephyr Airworks’ autonomous aircraft, into our skies.”
The trial of the AirMap drone traffic management platform currently underway in Canterbury and Queenstown is the first step in this development. AirMap allows drone pilots to plan their flights, seek authorisations and get information about the areas they’re operating in.
The next phase Airways is planning is to develop tracking tools that allow UAVs to be accurately monitored once they are beyond the pilot’s line of site and detect and avoidance capability to keep them safely separated from other aircraft.
Airways also intends to test the capabilty of New Zealand’s existing telecommunications network to track the likes of Zephyr Airworks’ autonomous vehicle Cora and UAVs in uncontrolled airspace and enable better telemetry for drone pilots.
Graeme Sumner says, “We’ve been working with the UAV industry since 2014 via airshare.co.nz and are committed to supporting this burgeoning sector.
“Our first priority is ensuring the safety of our skies and we’re thrilled to be at the forefront of this ground breaking trial with Zephyr Airworks.”
Airways has had significant experience working with new entrants to New Zealand’s airspace. Over the past four years the air traffic controller has developed an advanced launch services programme, enabling more than 120 stratospheric balloon launches for organisations including NASA and Google and has facilitated RocketLab’s ambitious rocket launch programme.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Emma Lee, Communications Advisor
E: communications@airways.co.nz
P: 027 511 1125
About Airways New Zealand
Airways New Zealand is world-leading provider of air traffic management services and a key enabler of the region’s aviation system, optimising air traffic flows across the entire aviation network. We are responsible for one of the largest flight information regions in the world of 30 million square kilometres, and we manage more than one million air traffic movements per year.
Airways operates in New Zealand as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE). We also provide air traffic control and engineering training, and have delivered air traffic management, revenue management solutions, navigation services and consultancy in more than 65 countries.
For more information please visit www.airways.co.nz
Source: Airways New Zealand
Headline: Read more
Airways today announced it is piloting future technologies needed to support the arrival of autonomous flying vehicles in New Zealand airspace. This follows confirmation by Zephyr Airworks that it will develop and test its air taxi, called Cora, in New Zealand.
The air navigation services provider will develop a nationwide unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) traffic management system, known as UTM, to enable drone activity across New Zealand airspace as well as integrate these vehicles safely into the national air traffic network.
Airways CEO Graeme Sumner says, “There is no doubt that technology is evolving and Airways’ role is to enable safe and flexible access to our airspace to allow these new industries to thrive.
“New Zealand’s regulatory environment and relatively uncongested airspace make us an attractive option for new operators. We are looking for ways to safely support more complex operations and facilitate new entrants, including the Zephyr Airworks’ autonomous aircraft, into our skies.”
The trial of the AirMap drone traffic management platform currently underway in Canterbury and Queenstown is the first step in this development. AirMap allows drone pilots to plan their flights, seek authorisations and get information about the areas they’re operating in.
The next phase Airways is planning is to develop tracking tools that allow UAVs to be accurately monitored once they are beyond the pilot’s line of site and detect and avoidance capability to keep them safely separated from other aircraft.
Airways also intends to test the capabilty of New Zealand’s existing telecommunications network to track the likes of Zephyr Airworks’ autonomous vehicle Cora and UAVs in uncontrolled airspace and enable better telemetry for drone pilots.
Graeme Sumner says, “We’ve been working with the UAV industry since 2014 via airshare.co.nz and are committed to supporting this burgeoning sector.
“Our first priority is ensuring the safety of our skies and we’re thrilled to be at the forefront of this ground breaking trial with Zephyr Airworks.”
Airways has had significant experience working with new entrants to New Zealand’s airspace. Over the past four years the air traffic controller has developed an advanced launch services programme, enabling more than 120 stratospheric balloon launches for organisations including NASA and Google and has facilitated RocketLab’s ambitious rocket launch programme.
ENDS
For further information please contact:
Emma Lee, Communications Advisor
E: communications@airways.co.nz
P: 027 511 1125
About Airways New Zealand
Airways New Zealand is world-leading provider of air traffic management services and a key enabler of the region’s aviation system, optimising air traffic flows across the entire aviation network. We are responsible for one of the largest flight information regions in the world of 30 million square kilometres, and we manage more than one million air traffic movements per year.
Airways operates in New Zealand as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE). We also provide air traffic control and engineering training, and have delivered air traffic management, revenue management solutions, navigation services and consultancy in more than 65 countries.
For more information please visit www.airways.co.nz