Port of Antwerp-Bruges receives final approval for drone network

The Port of Antwerp-Bruges and its partners Dronematrix, Skeydrone, and Proximus received approval to start their drone in a box network D-Hive.

This means that an operational authorisation was given for BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight) automated drone flights to take place on a daily basis in the Antwerp port area.

Representatives of European and national regulatory authorities observed the first approved flight of a BVLOS drone near the Kieldrecht lock, which was controlled by the port of Antwerp Command & Control Center.

The operational authorisation is based on a new BVLOS framework developed by Skeydrone and authorised as a valid and secure framework for BVLOS missions by the BCAA (Belgian Civil Aviation Authority) and EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency).

With the acceptance of this framework, the D-Hive network of automated drones will be completely active in the coming months.