Austro Control also sees itself as a partner for industry, said Hackl. Brunner spoke of a “milestone” for Schiebel and the aviation industry.
The company Schiebel, among other things manufacturer of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), received the so-called LUC certificate on Thursday, which was introduced as part of the new EU drone regulation. The certificate means proof for companies to be able to assess the risk of their own operations themselves. Valerie Hackl, Managing Director of Austro Control, and State Secretary Magnus Brunner (ÖVP), responsible for aviation, carried out the handover in Wiener Neustadt.
With the “Light Unmanned Operator Certificate” (LUC) flight operations in civil airspace can be approved without having to apply for an additional authorization. There is a kind of transfer of competence from the authority to the industry. Schiebel is the first company in Europe to receive the certificate.
It is now possible to authorize operations such as the monitoring of critical infrastructure, traffic routes or in agriculture and forestry “within the scope of the licensing conditions”, explained CEO Hannes Hecher at the production facility in Wiener Neustadt. The certificate is valid for the unmanned Camcopter S-100 helicopter and throughout Europe. According to Hecher, Schiebel will be operational in at least eight countries on the continent this year.
Austro Control also sees itself as a partner for industry, said Hackl. The certificate was handed over to Schiebel “without hesitation” after previous corresponding checks. It is unlimited and valid across Europe. Hackl also pointed out that 13,000 drone owners had been registered in Austria and 20,000 drone driving licenses had been issued since the beginning of the year.
Brunner spoke of a “milestone” for Schiebel and the aviation industry. The area of application for drones is getting bigger and bigger, the market potential is very high. In the area of small drones, growth of 16 percent or around 23 billion dollars (18.94 billion euros) is expected by 2026, added the State Secretary.
