A São Paulo Airport Is Using Drones To Patrol Its Surroundin…

The São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport (GRU) has begun using drones as part of its Security Work Plan. In recent days, GRU Airport, the concessionaire that manages the airport, acquired two unmanned aerial vehicles from Dahua Technology to monitor and protect the hub’s perimeter.

Security drones

More often than not, drones are associated with putting at risk the operations at commercial airports around the world. For instance, between 2019 and 2020, there were drone sightings at several airports such as Gatwick, Manchester (England), Frankfurt (Germany), Perth (Scotland), Tijuana (Mexico, with even a drone possibly impacting an Aeromexico aircraft), and more.

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For Guarulhos Airport authorities, the drone has become more than a threat to daily operations; it is now a tool to protect the surroundings of the hub. The concessionaire has recently acquired two drones to monitor and protect the airport’s perimeter, identifying possible threats such as fire outbreaks, animal species that live near the airport, and irregular trespassing. These drones will even do some maintenance tasks, such as the inspection of runways and providing guidance in logistics and traffic decisions in some instances.

According to Admilson Silva, director of operations at GRU Airport, the technology will be a very important tool for the day-to-day management of the airport. “The arrival of these drones will help us identify possible problems and act quickly to solve them,” he said.

Drones helping the airline industry

The unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) are an excellent tool for the airline industry. Since they can reach difficult spots more quickly and easily than a human, drones can be used on a wide variety of tasks, such as maintenance, security, photography, and more. For instance, LATAM Airlines Group recently started employing drones to inspect aircraft fuselages at its MRO facilities in São Carlos, Brazil. Korean Air does the same and slashes plane inspection times by 60%. Brussels Airports used drones last year to scare away birds. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) used a drone as part of a simulated exercise of an Airbus A380 accident and fire on a taxiway at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport.


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In the case of São Paulo’s Guarulhos International Airport, the recently acquired drones have two thermal camera devices, two sets of batteries, and two sets of propeller reserves. They are robust pieces of equipment and can withstand the numerous gusts of wind that the site constantly receives.

Drones can perform several safety tasks at airports (for instance, they can help in case of an accident, as it can be seen in the gallery above; pictures taken by the FAA). São Paulo Guarulhos International Airport recently acquired two drones to monitor and protect the airports perimeter. Photo: GRU Airport.

The drones can be used in rainy conditions and in the dark. In addition, the cameras have 30X Optical Zoom with StarLight technology that allows this equipment to be used even in low light environments, which are able to identify people, animals, and objects at a distance.

GRU Airport added that the drones were tested under the supervision of technicians from Dahua Technology and the concessionaire. After the tests, the remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) will be able to perform countless other predictive and behavioral analyses since they have onboard Artificial Intelligence technology.


Do you think more airports should adopt the use of drones to perform safety and maintenance tasks? Let us know in the comments below.

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