Drone flights near National Highway roads get safer and easier

The state organization tasked with managing and maintaining England’s network of major roadways, National Highway, has introduced a new drone flight management system to facilitate access and operation of pilots wanting to fly UAVs near principal ground transport arteries.

National Highway said the new web-based asset was already functioning, and was open to drone pilots preparing flights around England’s heavily-frequented roads. The objective of the platform, it said, was to improve the coordination and visibility of UAV activity near highways and so-called “A roads” linking major UK cities by making details of missions available to all stakeholders.

Requests for and notifications of drone flights around National Highway roadways has been rising steadily over time, surpassing 1,000 over the past couple of years.

The system involves pilots logging onto the site and entering specifics of their planned flights, using previously…