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Drone TDAs ‘out of control’ with new Scottish ACP
5th May 2021 10:24 Europe/London
A huge area of airspace 25nm south of Prestwick, Scotland will be blocked off if a new Temporary Danger Area (TDA) for drone operations goes ahead.
The TDA is 160 square miles, from the surface to 3,700ft around Newton Stewart, Dumfries. It is surrounded by the D402, D403 and D405 existing Danger Areas and is thus often used by transitting VFR traffic looking for a low-level north-south route. The period of operation is September-October this year.
An unnamed mineral exploration company has rights to areas north and east of Newton Stewart and wants to make a magnetic geophysical survey of their mineral concession area.
This proposal is for a Temporary Danger Area (TDA), for which a scaled airspace change process applies and a change level is not applicable. The detailed process requirements are published in the Temporary Danger Area Policy Statement.
Skyports Limited, a UK-based drone delivery service provider, is seeking a volume of airspace complex on the west coast of Scotland in which to carry out UAS delivery operations to help the UK Government and NHS in Scotland with the response to COVID-19, using delivery drones to transport medical supplies and samples (including dangerous goods) between a number of healthcare facilities.
The project is being funded through a joint initiative by the UK Space Agency and the European Space Agency. This area of operation is part of the larger UKSA/ESA funded project incorporating the area of operation to be facilitated ACP-2020-055, which is a separate ACP.