As a part of the HealthDrone project, one of the phases was to test and train operational procedures at Ærø. These flights were done to get us even further to our goal of flying with smaller freight transportation between Ærø and Svendborg. One of the great milestones on this site was the operations in non-segregated airspace. 

We started testing during 2020, after the approval was obtained by SDU, Falck and Holo. The goal was to obtain operational experience, which means we got to fly several missions at this site. The drone was flying in non-segregated airspace, which has a huge impact on improving future mobility.

Before doing transportation with drones, we need to find a safe way to integrate drones in air traffic, which is just one of the purposes within the HealthDrone project. This is why this testing phase at Ærø is very important for further development in the project. 

In the beginning, we used a drone built for this purpose by SDU. The drone was pre-programmed with a specific route that follows a GPS track, and can therefore fly automatically. The testing is without any cargo onboard, but the goal is to fly with medical supplies during the next phase of the project, which you can read about here.