Education is key to the safe integration of drones in civil airspace, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s Assistant Director of Communications.

We need a balanced, cross-border approach to regulating the growing drone industry, argues the author of the European Parliament’s report on the safe use of drones in civil airspace.

The UK should be leading on drone safety and how to integrate new technologies not just looking for ways to swat drones and UAVs from the skies. Compared with a nation like the US, the UK is better placed to establish itself as a model with its single aviation authority and standard set of rules for one area of jurisdiction.

The Royal Aeronautical Society’s conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems will discuss what is undoubtedly one of the biggest but most exciting opportunities and challenges facing the aviation and air traffic management industry today, drones and their safe integration.

Drones can go where it might be impossible, dangerous or too costly to send people, and there are some fascinating examples across the emergency services of where they are making a very practical difference and even helping to save lives.

When an unidentified aircraft, or ‘infringer’, with no clear or declared intentions enters controlled airspace without permission, a chain reaction is set in motion. We spoke with Amanda Rhodes, who you may have seen in action on the recent BBC2 documentary, Skies Above Britain, about what happens next….

Operational Safety is our most critical priority as a business, which is why we’re introducing Safety 2 – a new approach that takes a far broader view of safety improvement than we’ve ever done before.

Over the years we’ve probably all seen newspaper articles or documentaries revelling in the details of a so-called ‘near misses’, but as someone who was an air traffic controller for 14 years I can tell you that the reality is usually very different.

The world has seen many changes since Glasgow Airport opened for commercial business in 1966, not least at the airport itself.

There are a lot of resources out there to help drone pilots to stay safe and on the right side of the law, but with the huge growth in drone flying it’s still a concern that the number of incident is on the rise.