The Virginia Department of Aviation (DOAV) and Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) have launched the Virginia Flight Information Exchange pilot program.
The Virginia Flight Information Exchange is a platform for state and local government agencies to publish and share advisory information with each other, unmanned aerial system (UAS) service suppliers, UAS operators, and the public to promote transparency and public safety. The pilot program will evaluate the benefits of information sharing, inform thoughtful regulation, and demonstrate a state-supported approach to UAS communications and coordination.
The pilot program was developed through a public-private collaboration with the Virginia DOAV, CIT and its Virginia Unmanned Systems Center, the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT), and Advanced Technology Applications (ATA), a leading data science and engineering company in Northern Virginia.
“Innovation plays a critical role in the continuous evolution of Virginia’s multimodal transportation network,” said Virginia Secretary of Transportation Shannon Valentine. “The development of the Virginia Flight Information Exchange demonstrates Virginia’s commitment to collaborative solutions and the future of the emerging UAS industry sector.”
The Virginia Flight Information Exchange will be the first state-sponsored authoritative Supplemental Data Service Provider (SDSP) to exist in the Federal Aviation Administration’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM), which is an ecosystem of infrastructure and protocols enabling the management of low-altitude drone operations.
