Airmap Brings LAANC to Drone Developers

LAANC- the Low-Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability has now been made available to the entire drone ecosystem, thanks to AirMap, the world’s leading airspace management platform for drones who just announced this feature. With the FAA’s LAANC initiative, drone operators can apply for digital authorization to fly in U.S. controlled airspace near select FAA facilities.

In participating apps, drone operators with an AirMap account transfer their flight plan information to the AirMap app with just a tap. Once the authorization request has been submitted, drone operators are automatically redirected to the originating app to complete their flight. This essentially means that Drone developers and manufacturers can now integrate LAANC from AirMap into their own apps through deep linking.

LAANC is now available at six FAA facilities representing 46 airports. Beginning in April, the FAA plans to expand the LAANC prototype into a national beta. By the end of the year, more than 500 towered airports across the country will begin offering LAANC authorization. Before LAANC, waivers to fly in U.S. controlled airspace could only be obtained through a lengthy application process that could take up to 90 days. Now, drone flights can be authorized within seconds at certain altitudes, opening thousands of miles of controlled airspace for commercial missions that contribute to the drone economy. Industry innovators 3DR, Betterview, Converge, and DroneDeploy are the first to deploy LAANC Deep Linking from AirMap, now available to all with AirMap’s developer platform.”With the LAANC beta launching nationwide by the end of the year, AirMap’s deep linking feature will bring digital authorization to an entire community of U.S. drone operators and developers eager to reach new heights,” said Ben Marcus, CEO of AirMap. “Thanks to LAANC, more airspace is open for business, and commercial drones have more opportunities to contribute to our economy and benefit our daily lives.””With this integration, it’s easier than ever for our customers to fly safely and confidently in the FAA’s controlled airspaces,” said Chris Anderson, CEO of 3DR. “This is a big next step in making commercial drones an essential tool on projects across the country.””AirMap’s new LAANC Deep Linking has the potential to unlock greater operational efficiency for thousands of DroneDeploy customers across the construction, agriculture, and insurance industries,” said Ian Smith, Business Development Lead at DroneDeploy. AirMap’s drones provide airspace management for any environment, they automatically log past, present & future flights too.

These drones can also access live positioning and aircraft health data for complete situational awareness of drones operating in managed airspace and schedule automated authorization for pre-approved flight plans and manual authorization for flights outside pre-approved zones. They can also manage a fleet with dynamic deconfliction and telemetry. AirMap has successfully brought complex UTM services to markets worldwide, including Switzerland, Kansas, and Japan in the past.