Just like the drone industry itself, the Amsterdam Drone Week is rapidly outgrowing its infancy. Together with the High Level Conference on Drones, co-organized by the European Aviation Authority EASA, the second edition of the event made Amsterdam the epicenter of the global drone industry. In addition, important milestones were achieved in the adoption of European legislation and regulations concerning U-space.
“We are at the dawn of a new social and industrial revolution”, said Philip Butterworth-Hayes at the opening of the Amsterdam Drone Week. “Humans, robots and automated systems are going to work together. We are creating a new transport ecosystem and we are learning right now here in Amsterdam how this will work.
”Filip Cornelis, Director for Aviation (DG MOVE Directorate) in the European Commission, added the important role of cities in reshaping the future of mobility: “Cities will have to manage the 3rd dimension: the skies over the cities where the bulk of drones are expected to fly.”
U-space
Amsterdam Drone Week drew 3100 decision makers and more than 200 speakers from no less than 70 countries to Amsterdam. RAI Amsterdam held high-level discussions for three days on new European legislation and regulations in the field of unmanned air mobility and U-space. More than 900 people attending the conference discussed the European rules and regulations announced in June. It sets Europe on the forefront of the worldwide drone community. It was the first time anywhere in the world that regulation on U-space/Unmanned Traffic Management (UTM) is being drafted and implemented, according to EASA Executive Director Patrick Ky. This regulation is prepared as a follow-up to the European drone regulations that were published last summer and that will come into force in June 2020. “This second edition of the Amsterdam Drone Week was a special edition”, said Ky. “The first one was a discovery of what could be done, this edition shows an increase in the number of visitors coming to the conference and the exhibition.”
Collaboration is key
Simon Hocquard, Director General of CANSO was very pleased with the second edition of the Amsterdam Drone Week. “It was great to see so many key players from across the UTM and ATM spectrum in one room. What this said to me is that the drone industry is no longer an emerging market, it’s a critical part of our aviation ecosystem and it’s taken a strong foothold. In order for aviation to continue to be the safest form of transport, it’s important that we all work together to achieve our goals. I commend RAI and EASA for taking it on this year and I’m very much looking forward to the 2020 event!”.
Paul Riemens, CEO of RAI Amsterdam, is looking forward to next year’s edition. “We then work together with Commercial UAV Expo and that means that an extra hall will be added. Moreover, we invite all cities that are experimenting with urban air mobility and they will be asked to share their experience here in Amsterdam. The drone industry is developing at lightning speed and here we are sketching the future of a safe and efficient airspace.”
