The Federal Aviation Administration has approved New York’s entire 50-mile drone corridor for beyond-line-of-sight unmanned aircraft flights, the office of Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Oct. 19.
That will allow unmanned aircraft to fly civilian drones from Syracuse International Airport to Griffiss International Airport in Rome without requiring visual observers.
“The FAA designation will help to unlock the full potential and economic advantage of commercial drone and advanced air mobility operations, including cargo and passenger transport via uncrewed aircraft,” the governor’s office said in a statement.
Hochul also said the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR), the nonprofit that operates UAS in the corridor, will get $21 million in CNY Rising Upstate Revitalization Initiative funding for testing and deploying infrastructure.
NUAIR has partnered with Quebec-based VPorts, which designs, builds and operates advanced air mobility infrastructure, to develop a corridor between Syracuse International Airport and Quebec, Canada to allow full commercial cargo transport using unmanned helicopters.
“This 50-mile corridor between Rome and Syracuse, New York, uniquely encompasses all the elements and infrastructure that are key for the commercialization of UAS applications such as inspections of transportation and utility infrastructure, medical logistics, environmental conservation, and public safety operations,” said NUAIR CEO Ken Stewart.