UK UTM provider Altitude Angel has announced the company has been awarded a contract to provide the Netherlands’ air traffic control authority, Luchtverkeersleiding Nederland (LVNL), with a nationwide UTM platform.

Altitude Angel’s solution will provide the Netherlands with a UTM platform aimed at safely integrating drones into Dutch airspace. The move could pave the way for more advanced operations, like drone delivery.

Read more: Altitude Angel Launch Drone Incident Reporting System

3-year contract to open up Dutch airspace

Altitude Angel and LVNL have agreed to a three-year contract that will see the former provide several products and services, including a foundation U-Space platform that will be an important precursor to commercial drone use.

Altitude Angel will also provide LVNL with a drone registration system alongside web and mobile flight planning platforms.

“Together with Altitude Angel, LVNL will deliver innovative functionality and facilitate new possibilities for the U-Space industry in the Netherlands, said Jurgen van Avermaete, LVNL, General Manager Procedures.

“It was clear they are providing a ‘best in class’ solution, both functionally and technically, as well as having a high focus on safety. Altitude Angel were able to demonstrate how their production platform will seamlessly integrate with our current systems, but will flex and scale as the use of UAVs increases.”

“Our ambition is to be the world’s best air traffic control organisation in terms of safety, people and delivering reliability. Altitude Angel embodies those values, will be an important cooperating partner helping us realise our goals.”

A testing ground for mobility solutions

As a country with an innovation-minded government, no shortage of modern infrastructure and a long history of air traffic management expertise, the Netherlands is an obvious testing ground for advanced drone flights.

The country is also environmentally conscious, with the world’s 5th largest market for electric cars and an appetite for transport and logistics solutions that could help to combat climate change.

Altitude Angel’s technology provision is step one if drones are to be a part of that future.

Richard Parker, Altitude Angel, CEO and founder, said: “At Altitude Angel, our goal is simple; we want to enable our customers to unlock the tremendous potential of drones and UAM to transform lives and revolutionise businesses, safely and securely. Through our partnership, we’re enabling LVNL to deploy new capabilities to serve – and catalyse – the emerging drone and UAM industry.

“These are absolutely exciting times and, with LVNL, we’re together looking forward to playing a pivotal role in future developments with a growing number of UAV’s entering the Dutch airspace.”