Approval from the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) has given the Verizon-owned Skyward company the ability to grant commercial drone operators instant access to airports such as Cincinnati International, Reno, San Jose, and Lincoln this fall.
It is part of a service operated by the FAA known as Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC). LAANC grants access to the previously inaccessible, and introduces a bit of automation to the process as well, which sharply cuts the downtime for commercial operators.
“Based on customer feedback, we know most of their jobs are in controlled airspace and getting access to fly in these areas is one of their largest business pain points,” Mariah Scott, co-president of Skyward, said. “Operators have had to wait 60-90 days to receive authorization under the existing system. Now, with Skyward and LAANC, enterprises can get approval to fly in just two clicks.”
Scott added that the change is likely to bring forth a sharp uptick in drone use by enterprises, something all levels of the system have been working toward over the years through the removal of barriers to companies looking to operate the automated systems commercially. At present, there are only 12 members of the LAANC working group, however; Skyward being one. Up until now, there have been operational hurdles for companies operating these systems in urban areas, with the permission wait period one of the major ones.