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“Many companies have already discovered the topic of drones and have built new business areas around them. But there are still numerous companies, especially small and medium-sized businesses, that have not yet taken a closer look at the possibilities of using drones. We would also like to bring this exciting future topic closer to them,” said Rosemarie Schön, head of the legal policy department at the Austrian Chamber of Commerce (WKÖ), in her introductory remarks to the event “Drones: Potential for the Economy,” which took place at the WKÖ.
The event continues a series hosted by the Legal Policy Department together with the Federal Department of Transport and Traffic and is dedicated to innovative solutions in the transport sector. And there are countless of them, as well-known experts from companies and responsible authorities subsequently showed.
“There are areas where drone technology has already arrived, such as technical inspections, film and photography, agriculture and forestry, science and research, surveys and the collection of data for climate-friendly design for buildings. But there is even more potential. Applications as air taxis or as a means of transport in the transport of goods are particularly interesting for us as a transport industry, including for delivery in remote regions, such as supplying mountain huts. But we still need the legal framework for this,” emphasized Alexander Klacska, chairman of the federal transport and traffic division in the WKÖ. Although there has been a new EU regulation since December 2020 that regulates flying with drones across the EU, Klacska still locates many construction sites. These affect commercial law as well as the new Austrian air traffic regulations (LVR) that are still outstanding and eagerly awaited by the industry. Clear framework conditions are also needed for applications of drones in medical care, such as sending blood transfusions or defibrillators.
According to Elisabeth Landrichter from the Ministry of Climate Protection, the area of medical deliveries is already making good progress; in general, Europe is already well advanced in the area of drones and the Austrian LVR will also be able to be implemented promptly. According to Landrichter, in order for the drone market to develop well, it is also important that there is safety and acceptance by the population - an area in which the Austrian drone strategy is making intensive efforts. The geographical division into five zones, which Swen Göring from the Climate Protection Ministry outlined in more detail, is intended to ensure the greatest possible safety.
Lukas Grabner from Austro Control described which official tasks Austro Control takes on and what coordination role it plays. Peter Hauk from Frequentis provided information about the status of research. Also among the speakers: the representatives of the Austrian drone manufacturers, Hannes Hecher from Schiebel, Andreas Perotti from FACC, Andreas Fürlinger from Apeleon as well as Christine Schönberger (ÖBB Infrastructure AG), Joachim Hausleitner (Baanamovie) and Philipp Knopf (Skyability), who showed application examples. But questions about the test infrastructure (Christoph Brunner from AIRlabs Austria), data protection, commercial and civil law (lawyer Joachim Janezic) and future applications were also discussed.
