A zone entirely dedicated to drone activity has just been inaugurated at Bordeaux-Mérignac airport.
Drone technology is becoming an increasingly important component of our lives, whether in the most terrible cases, such as in wars, or in everyday life. And it is in order not to miss this ongoing revolution that in Bordeaux, the authorities have set up a special zone in the local airport, which will make it possible to develop activity in the region.
A first in France
The European professional drone exhibition UAV Show was an opportunity for Bordeaux-Mérignac airport to inaugurate its drone flight test zone in an airport environment. Installed over an area of 200 m2500 meters from the airport runways, it allows various companies using drones for their activities (such as surveillance or agricultural spraying) to check the proper use of their equipment.
“ All these companies may have to fly their drones in air traffic, or in a complex urban environment, we will be able to certify that they are capable of doing so while respecting all safety rules. », explains one of the project promoters, François Baffou, also director of the Bordeaux Technowest incubator.
Flying taxis in the crosshairs
However, this is only the very first stage of a longer-term project, intended to accommodate flying taxis, or eVTOLs, by 2035, which will appear during the Paris Olympic Games the year next. In Bordeaux, designers want to go even further and establish themselves within a decade in the field of pilotless flights.
To do this, we must first build the infrastructure from which the solutions can be tested. “There are a multitude of different machines, different projects, while waiting for all this to emerge, we want the infrastructure to be ready, and for us to be able to integrate them into air traffic », Indicates Simon Dreschel, the airport director.
Furthermore, the project is still in its infancy enough that it is impossible to know the prices that will ultimately be charged for this service in the future. “Whether it will be a premium product, or accessible to everyone, we don’t know yet », asks the same Simon Dreschel.
Source : 20 minutes
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