senseFly Nabs ‘Anytime BVLOS’ Drone Approval in Home Country

senseFly has received Switzerland’s very first approval for “anytime beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS)” drone operations.

According to the Swiss drone company, the country’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA) granted senseFly permission to fly any of its eBee-branded mapping solutions BVLOS anywhere in the country.

“This country-wide, anytime BVLOS authorization is a first for Switzerland, and we are delighted to be working closely with FOCA to pioneer this kind of flexible, extended use,” states Jean-Christophe Zufferey, CEO of senseFly.

Under the specific conditions of the approval, the company cannot fly more than 500 feet above ground level (or 1,000 feet over urban areas) and must use visual observers, who must each monitor a section of airspace (with a radius of 2 kilometers) for other aircraft. In addition, says senseFly, the observers must be able to “communicate instantly” with the operator.

Globally, senseFly notes it is not the first eBee operator to be granted approval for this extended use: Numerous senseFly customers are able to operate under similar conditions, such as ATEC-3D in England and AIRINOV in France.