Drones

AirMap LAANC functionality at present offline

The AirMap LAANC feature appears to be offline at the moment, and the company name does not currently appear on the FAA’s Approved Vendors list. (Image below from the FAA website.)

In a drone pilot chat room last Friday, Adrian Doko, Lead Drone Pro for the FAA security team in North Texas, mentioned that several service providers had contacted the security team with questions about the service failure.

At the time of writing, AirMap has not responded to requests for more information. The AirMap LAANC feature is still described on the company’s website, so the service outage may be temporary.

In 2017, AirMap was one of the first companies to work on the FAA’s Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC), which was a significant step forward in automating the process of getting drone pilots to fly. The LAANC capability enables drone pilots to obtain airspace permits within minutes, drastically reducing waiting time and improving the environment for commercial drone operations.

Since then, the LAANC program has expanded to other companies, more airports, and recreational aviators: and more competing airspace apps have grown in size. Aloft, formerly known as Kittyhawk, is the developer of the FAA’s B4UFly app; The drone delivery company Wing has released the OpenSky app; the other players listed are all LAANC-enabled.

Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional marketplace for drone services, and a passionate observer of the emerging drone industry and regulatory environment for drones. Author of over 3,000 articles focusing on the commercial drone space, Miriam is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry. Miriam graduated from the University of Chicago and has over 20 years experience in high-tech sales and marketing for emerging technologies.
For advice or writing in the drone industry, email Miriam.

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