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It's not easy, but it's coming: the 750-kilometer drone flight between the Frisian town of Oranjewoud and Copenhagen. Preparations for Xpedition New Horizons are in full swing and on track. "The route is known in outline and the first permit application is out the door," says Coert Ruseler, Business Line Director Environment, Safety & Health at Antea Group. The flight will take place this year.
With Xpedition New Horizons the engineering and consulting firm wants to show what drones can be safely used for in the near future and what valuable information this can provide for making our living environment more sustainable. However, a drone flight through three national airspace has not been seen before. This makes organizing it quite a challenge. Ruseler: "In addition to European laws and regulations, there are many specific issues per country regarding drones. Planning also has to take into account highways, high-voltage cables, nature reserves and railroad lines. And when crossing national borders with different mobile networks."
Yet, step by step, that dreamed drone flight is getting closer. Thus, the route has been determined and Antea Group found in DroneQ Robotics a partner with more than 20 years of experience in realizing unmanned technology operations. Ruseler: "Their expertise is of great value in the preparation and execution." In addition, Antea Group is holding talks with the three countries in which the drone flight will take place, and the permit application for the Netherlands has now been submitted to the Environmental and Transport Inspectorate.
Antea Group is actively addressing the enormous challenges we face as a society. In the area of sustainability, it is committed to the Sustainable Development Goals : the global 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. The goals focus on creating positive impact for generations to come. During the drone flight, a number of landmarks will be visited to demonstrate how Antea Group as an engineering and consulting firm is contributing to the SDGs.
Exactly when that flight will take place is not yet known. Ruseler: "In any case, this year. Then we will celebrate our 70th anniversary. A drone flight from the place of our foundation, to the most sustainable city in Europe: that's the story we want to tell, of course." Nevertheless, the journey towards it is also incredibly valuable: "For all parties involved, it is already an instructive voyage of discovery."
