The FAA announced last Thursday that its final low altitude authorization and notification sector had gone live. LAANC allows drone pilots to quickly receive automated airspace authorizations from approximately 300 air traffic facilities serving nearly 500 airports nationwide.
FAA Administrator Dan Elwell said in an agency video, “LAANC is a technological solution that helps us safely integrate drones into our airspace. It gives our air traffic controllers visibility into where and when authorized drones are flying near airports so they can have more flexibility to plan flight operations. Drone pilots using LAANC can receive authorization to fly in certain airspace in near real-time. What used to take weeks, now takes mere seconds.”
The agency began testing LAANC last April in the south central U.S. LAANC was rolled out in around the nation in sections, or waves, the latest, Wave 6, being introduced on September 13 in the north central region.
The FAA has included a list of approved companies capable of providing LAANC service on its website, a catalogue that will expand as additional partners are approved.
