Malaga Airport, a pioneer in drone air traffic control

The Málaga-Costa del Sol Airport is a benchmark in Europe for drone air traffic control, which are increasingly being used in civilian life. These functionalities will increase in the short term, as small aircraft begin to fly to deliver packages, among other uses. For this to be possible, the coordination of unmanned aircraft flights in the airport environment is key to ensuring safety.

The control tower in Málaga, managed by Enaire along with the company Indra, presented today the Ensure program, a new pioneering system in the EU that will allow authorizing, modifying, or canceling drone operations in real-time, eliminating current deadlines of up to 20 days in advance. And of course, without compromising the safety of commercial and emergency aviation (transport of patients, organs, and accident victims).

Málaga's airspace is getting ready to integrate drones into new civilian and service applications such as rapid parcel delivery

During today's event, several real demonstrations were conducted on the runways of the Málaga aerodrome showing how drone flight can coexist safely and coordinated with manned and commercial aviation, under the supervision of control towers. This will allow the reconfiguration of the airspace for the progressive deployment of new drone applications, which are already commonly used in inspection, surveillance, and emergency management tasks, but also for cleaning facades, among others.

David González Campos, director of the control tower, explains that with the current systems, drone operators must apply for permits weeks in advance, fly at very specific times, and coordinate each operation by phone calls with air traffic control. With the new model, management becomes digital, immediate, and without voice communication, through a platform that connects the operator, the planning system, and the controllers.

"The goal is that the same day a flight plan can be submitted, approved, and the takeoff authorized at that moment," adds the air traffic controller. The system also allows for ordering immediate landings, modifying routes in real-time, or prohibiting access to certain areas through automatic drone alerts.

Air Safety Guaranteed

The project is based on enhancing safety, with alert systems for potential conflicts with manned aircraft and coordination designed so that drone operations never interfere with commercial flights. One of the areas where it can be crucial is in healthcare. In emergency situations, such as transplants or medical helicopter transfers, the platform could order the immediate landing of all drones in the area within minutes, saving time that can be vital. "Minutes are crucial when it comes to saving lives," emphasizes the director.

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Meanwhile, Raúl Delgado, director of the southern zone control towers at Enaire, adds that the demonstration is part of a European research and development project led by Eurocontrol, aimed at creating a common framework for all of Europe. Although it is still a testing environment, the work done will serve as a basis for operators to deploy these systems in the future.

The test involves drones of small size, weighing 250 grams, and others up to 25 kilos, all of them models of vertical takeoff and landing. They simulate runway inspections and operations in controlled areas, as well as deliberate intrusions outside the authorized space to test how the system detects the incident and sends alerts in real-time.

The controller highlights the leading role of Málaga in the development of this technology. "Participating in these projects means more work, but it allows us to be at the forefront and participate in the design of the systems we will use later." A commitment that reinforces the position of the Costa del Sol airport as a European benchmark in the safe integration of drones into the future airspace.