Wales Air Ambulance has become the latest organization to adopt Altitude Angel’s Approval Services platform, a system designed to streamline drone operations. Altitude Angel is a provider of Unified Traffic Management (UTM) technology that allows drone operators to request and pay for permissions to take off and land on private property.
Supporting Critical Air Ambulance Services
Wales Air Ambulance plays a crucial role in providing advanced medical services across Wales, relying on charitable donations to fund its operations. The organization must raise £11.2 million annually to keep its helicopters and rapid response vehicles operational. These funds are essential for maintaining their fleet, which responds to emergencies across the Welsh countryside, towns, cities, coastline, and mountainous regions.
Every year, the air ambulance service’s four helicopters and fleet of rapid response vehicles attend thousands of missions, providing life-saving care in remote and urban areas alike. The new Approval Services platform will be implemented at two of the charity’s airbases, which are Cardiff Heliport and Dafen. This integration is expected to enhance operational efficiency and safety in air traffic management by coordinating drone activities around these vital medical resources.
A Key Step Toward Future Air Ambulance Services
Altitude Angel’s Approval Services platform has been recognized as a crucial advancement for the industry. When the system first launched, the UK’s Aviation Minister at the time, Baroness Vere, described it as a significant step toward achieving the ambitious outcomes set by the Future of Flight Industry Group. The platform allows drone operators to submit flight plans, especially those that require approvals for operations within an airport’s Flight Restriction Zone or on private land. The process is designed to be secure, efficient, and transparent, even enabling operators to handle any related charges during the approval process.
With the integration of this technology, Wales Air Ambulance is set to improve coordination between manned and unmanned aircraft, ensuring safer skies for both medical missions and drone operations across Wales.
