We will eat all kinds of pizzas, we will drink all kinds of colas: the Lithuanian government approved the necessary changes to the U-Space drone system

 

"On Wednesday, the government approved the changes to the airspace organization rules and the civil aviation security program, according to which additional geographical areas for flying drones will be created in Lithuania, one of which - the so-called "U-Space" - is very advanced and the first of its kind in Europe.

 

Margarita Paulauskienė, senior adviser on civil aviation activities of the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA), previously told BNS that the "U-Space" zone will allow drone flights to be managed in the future, and they could also provide food delivery, postal and other services.

 

"In the future, we think that drones will be able to deliver all kinds of pizzas, colas and mail, parcels. The system of the future foresees that the drone, which we will be able to see on the screen, which will have all the necessary permits, that it will be able to take off from a set place, deliver something to a certain address, that its entire flight will be monitored by a person and will simply move," explained M. Paulauskienė.

 

Software for issuing permits and tracking drones on the road will still need to be developed, she said.

 

According to M. Paulauskienė, in addition to U-Space, three more zones are legalized for controlling drone flights: completely prohibiting flights, limiting the flying height of drones or their mass, and special activity zones for drone developers.

 

According to the government's decision, LTSA was given additional functions that "Oro navigacija" can no longer perform after becoming a joint-stock company.

 

"Oro navigacija" announced in June that it had signed a 2.5 million EUR contract with the Austrian company "Frequentis" - it will install the "U-Space" system by the summer of 2024 - a mobile application for drone users, which will provide flight confirmation, traffic, general information and other services.

 

According to the Transport Competence Agency, there were 3.9 thousand in Lithuania in January. drone users. In April, there were 2,900 remote pilots in Lithuania who passed exams and received qualification certificates."