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FAA ATO COO TERI BRISTOL'S WEEKLY UPDATE
Sept. 28, 2018
Clearing the Way for Drone Use in Our Airspace
Hi everyone,
We often talk about thinking outside the box and being innovative, and that's not always easy
in a large organization that adheres to strict processes for ensuring safety.
But with the right precautions, we are learning that new technology and new partnerships can
pave the way to a better way of doing business without any compromise to keeping our
airspace safe.
A great example is the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC). LAANC is
a collaboration with industry that allows drone operators to request access to controlled
airspace and receive a response nearly instantly. Prior to LAANC, a drone pilot might have had
to wait in excess of 90 days for a manual authorization.
The initiative cleared a notable milestone with its beta test earlier this month, completing the
sixth and final wave of its national rollout, only five months after the first sector. That means
drone pilots can now receive quick, automated airspace authorizations from nearly 300 FAA air
traffic facilities serving about 500 airports nationwide.
We've already received more than 32,000 automated requests – exceeding the number of
manual operations – and more than 95 percent of them were approved immediately. We're
eliminating backlogs and getting more insight into where drones are flying.
Our teams at facilities across the national airspace have been instrumental to this work by
providing the maps, flight restrictions, and other source data that industry needs to build apps,
many of which are compatible with smart phones, to ensure drones stick to areas that don't
conflict with other users.
We have a number of terrific industry service providers, and Acting Administrator Dan Elwell
plans to announce additional partners who have met our qualifications next week, with
opportunities in 2019 for more. We're also working on user enhancements, performance
improvements and architecture updates.
