Skyward, a Verizon company has been approved to give commercial drone operators instant access to controlled airspace with the Low Altitude Authorization and Notification Capability (LAANC) services from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The program will roll out this fall at Cincinnati International Airport (CVG), Reno (RNO), San Jose (SJC), and Lincoln (LNK) among others.

LAANC will enable businesses to access airspace that previously required the submission of a manual request for authorization, and it will automate the approval process, reducing the wait time from months to seconds.

Though the release of Part 107 significantly lowered the barrier to entry for companies that want to operate drones commercially, the rule also created an operational hurdle for companies in urban areas, especially for early adopters who had previously coordinated directly with local air traffic control.

“Based on customer feedback, we know most of their jobs are in controlled airspace and getting access to fly in these areas is one of their largest business pain points,” said Mariah Scott, Co-President of Skyward. “Operators have had to wait 60-90 days to receive authorization under the existing system. Now, with Skyward and LAANC, enterprises can get approval to fly in just two clicks. With this hurdle gone, we can expect to see a substantial adoption of drone technology at the enterprise level.”

As one of 12 members of the LAANC working group, Skyward helped to develop this capability as an essential method to help serve more customers in new areas efficiently and safely. To learn more about instant access to controlled airspace with Skyward, visit http://go.skyward.io/laanc-webinar.html to register for a free webinar on November 9 at 1 p.m. ET.

About Skyward

Skyward, A Verizon company, is a leading operations management solution for commercial drone businesses. Skyward helps companies save time and scale faster by connecting all of the people, projects, and equipment in a drone program into one efficient workflow. Headquartered in Portland, Oregon, the company was founded by career pilots and computer science experts with a mission to ensure that the standards of safety and professionalism are carried into this new era of aviation. For more on Skyward, visit http://www.skyward.io/