UK clears first drone flight from Scotland to Norway

The CAA and Luftfartstilsynet (Civil Aviation Authority Norway) has given Windracers approval to fly its dual-use heavy-lift drone, Windracers ULTRA, a dual-use drone capable of transporting a load of up to 150kg with a range of up to 1,000km.

The aircraft will fly beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) from Tingwall Airport in the Shetlands to Haugesund Airport in Norway.

This is the first time a long-distance drone has been approved to fly for civil purposes between UK airspace and the adjoining airspace of another state. The approval was enabled by the creation of temporary danger areas, providing a controlled corridor to facilitate the flight

The airspace will cover a distance of 235 miles from Shetland, over the North Sea, and across the Scottish/Polaris Flight Information Region (FIR) boundary into Norwegian airspace.

In a statement, Simon Muderack, CEO of Windracers, said: “This airspace approval is a major landmark for both Windracers and the wider UAS sector, and shows how the UK and Norway CAAs are acting as enabling regulators supporting the future of aviation.

“Windracers ULTRA is already flying real-world missions today. We can now prove those capabilities across international airspace – opening new possibilities for how we connect remote communities and deliver essential services

“Many assume the autonomous air cargo industry is still years away, something in the future. Windracers, with the support of the UK and Norway CAAs, is affirming that it is here today.”

Windracers said the approval process focused on how current day regulations could be used and how best to overcome a range of challenges, including safety, liability, international obligations and environmental mitigations around the planned flight.

Jon Round, head of airspace, Air Traffic Management & Aerodrome Airspace at UK Civil Aviation Authority, said: “Our airspace regulation team rose to the challenge by enabling an airspace change request through smart use of existing structures and regulatory processes.

“Innovation isn’t always about new technology or future frameworks – it can also mean reimagining how current systems can be applied.”