Opening Airspace

Flylogix is currently delivering a North Sea initiative in collaboration with oil and gas multinational Total S.A., NATS, the UK’s leading provider of air traffic navigation services, and the Oil & Gas Technology Centre (OGTC).

The project aims to overcome the challenges associated with unmanned aviation activities in the North Sea and allow commercial operators easier access to UK controlled airspace for beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations. This project will enable Flylogix to conduct daily inspections and emissions measurement without the cost and risk of deploying personnel offshore.

Currently, approvals for carrying out UAV operations inside UK controlled airspace can take up to three months, with requests considered on a one-by-one basis resulting in the granting of single flight permissions. This makes the planning of inspection and logistic services slow. The project involves extensive consultation with stakeholders and aims to establish a leading example of safe and reliable drone operations alongside existing users in controlled airspace.

The collaboration’s strength stems from the combination of Flylogix’s unique BVLOS capability, Total’s leadership in robotic and autonomous systems for the energy industry, NATS’ expertise in unified traffic management, and the OGTC’s unparalleled position of influence with the UK offshore industry.