First Drone Flight with Active Deconfliction in Controlled Airspace around Brussels Airport

Vilvoorde, Belgium – For the first time, a drone flight was executed in the controlled airspace surrounding an international airport - in this case Brussels Airport - with active deconfliction between ATM (Air Traffic Management for traditional manned aviation) and UTM (for unmanned aviation). skeyes and SkeyDrone, exchanged data intensively, enabling the airspace to remain active for traditional manned aviation while simultaneously integrating a drone flight safely.

 

The event took place on Thursday, March 20, starting at 9:00 AM. The drone took off from the twelfth floor of the Living Tomorrow Innovation Campus in Vilvoorde. The flight was the result of a collaboration between skeyes, SkeyDrone, Living Tomorrow and DroneLand.

This groundbreaking operation marks a significant step in the safe integration of manned and unmanned aviation within the Controlled Traffic Region (CTR) of an international airport.

A New Milestone for Safe Drone Integration

The drone, remotely controlled, crossed the Brussels Ring Road four times. The control signal for the unmanned aircraft originated from the control room of drone operator SkeyDrone, a subsidiary of skeyes and Brussels Airport, located in Steenokkerzeel, 13 kilometers in a straight line from Living Tomorrow. The flight was carried out in close coordination with skeyes, the Air Navigation Service Provider responsible for all flight movements over Belgian territory up to an altitude of 7,500 meters, whether manned or unmanned.

 

The Future of Drone Integration in Belgium

This historic flight highlights Belgium’s efforts to take a leading role in the European aviation sector. Through collaboration between public and private partners, the path is being paved for the safe and efficient integration of drones into our airspace, with applications in logistics, urban mobility, and emergency response.

Johan Decuyper, CEO of skeyes:
​“This flight proves that we are ready to take the next step with drones for beyond visual line of sight operations near complex airspaces around airports. The experiences gained here contribute to a workable ecosystem where economically relevant applications for unmanned aviation are possible, without compromising the safety and efficiency of traditional aviation.”

 

Living Tomorrow as an Innovative Launch Platform

The choice of the Living Tomorrow Innovation Campus as the take-off location underscores Belgium’s forward-thinking vision for aviation innovation. This iconic building serves as a test environment for new technologies, where drones play a key role in urban mobility and logistics applications.

Yin Oei CEO Living Tomorrow:
​“Our campus is the ideal place to demonstrate the future of aviation. We aim to make innovative technologies accessible to businesses and governments, with a focus on sustainability and efficiency.”

 

The Role of SkeyDrone and DroneLand

As a subsidiary of skeyes, SkeyDrone plays a crucial role in the implementation of U-space in Belgium. U-space is an innovative concept enabling the safe and efficient integration of drones into airspace. Thanks to U-space, drones will be able to operate in busy and complex airspaces, opening new possibilities for commercial and societal applications such as parcel delivery, inspections, and emergency response.

 

DroneLand, a leading provider of drone solutions in the Benelux, contributes expertise in drone hardware and software. Their extensive knowledge and services, including training and maintenance, support the continued professionalization of drone operations.

 

Note to Editors

Media inquiries can be directed to:

skeyes
​Dutch-speaking spokesperson: Kurt Verwilligen
​French-speaking spokesperson: Audrey Dorigo
​

  • Phone: +32 2 206 20 07 (NL)
  • Phone: +32 2 206 20 12 (FR)
  • Email: kve@skeyes.be
  • Email: doa@skeyes.be

SkeyDrone
​Head of Marketing: Nele Coghe

  • Phone: +32 473 76 90 16
  • Email: nco@skeydrone.aero

 

Share

Get updates in your mailbox

By clicking "Subscribe" I confirm I have read and agree to the Privacy Policy.

About skeyes

skeyes ensures the safety and efficiency of air traffic in Belgium 24/7. The skeyes air traffic controllers manage over 3,000 aircraft every day, which makes up over a million flight movements per year. The autonomous public company is active at the heart of Europe, in one of the busiest and most complex sections of airspace of the continent. skeyes is active at Brussels Airport and at the airports of Antwerp, Charleroi, Kortrijk, Liège and Ostend. Thanks to its CANAC 2 control centre skeyes manages the flight movements above Belgium and a part of Luxembourg up to an altitude of 7,500 metres (*). The company relies on its nearly 900 experienced staff members who are at the service of their customers: airline companies, airports, the aviation sector and the authorities. skeyes also develops innovating services regarding drones and contributes to a sustainable future of the aviation sector, among other things with respect to the environment.

skeyes is a member of FABEC, a joint airspace block (Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Germany, France and Switzerland) with the aim of improving air navigation efficiency in the heart of Europe in the framework of the Single European Sky.

www.skeyes.be

(*) The upper airspace of the Benelux countries and North West Germany is managed jointly with the EUROCONTROL centre in Maastricht. 

Contact

Tervuursesteenweg 303 1820 Steenokkerzeel Belgium

+32 2 206 21 11

press@skeyes.be

www.skeyes.be