For the current Caelus flights, we are trialling a different use of airspace to ensure it is robust enough to withstand the traffic of today as well as that of the future. This time around, we are incorporating a Temporary Segregated Area (TSA), which means Aberdeen airport can use the airspace safely and flexibly while minimising possible disruption to traditional traffic.  

With the accelerating growth of the uncrewed and advanced air mobility sectors, the global aviation landscape is poised for significant change. More and more new and diverse airspace users are lining up for access to our skies, supported by a multitude of air traffic service providers.

If you knew where to look in the skies above London last month, you’d have seen history in the making. For the first time, drones were being flown Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) in the heart of the city and inside them, a precious payload of urgent blood samples for the NHS.

The latest Project CAELUS test flights have given us another chance to validate our Concept of Operations for uncrewed flight.

Reflecting on the latest success from Project Caelus and Scotland’s first delivery of medical lab specimens by drone between two NHS boards.

Last week the CAA announced the latest round of ‘BVLOS Sandbox’ projects, all chosen to help push us one step closer to realising routine drone operations in the UK.

Development of NATS OpenAir, our proposal for a future integrated airspace management system, continues apace.

At the end of last year, we ran a series of simulations at our head office in Hampshire designed to help us understand how eVTOLs might one day operate at scale within UK airspace which promoted a lot of questions. I wanted to take this opportunity to answer some of the points people took the time to raise.

This week, I was privileged to represent NATS at the Project Caelus flight trials, which demonstrated that drones are on their way to becoming an important part of the aviation industry, and indeed, everyday life.   

Future Flight 1 and 2 helped us to understand how new eVTOLS and drones move, operate and perform. Phase 3 of Future Flight will move us to the next stage, showing us how new airspace users could interact with existing air traffic, at airports and in a shared airspace.