On 30 October 2012, the Italian RPAS manufacturer Aermatica SPA received the first Italian Permit-to-Fly from ENAC, the Italian Civil Aviation Authority. This Permit-to-Fly concerns the company’s Anteos RPAS and allows flight activity in non-segregated airspace.
This first Italian Permit-to-Fly, has been granted as ENAC is working on legislation designed to regulate the commercial use of RPAS, which is expected to be completed in 2012, as was anticipated by the “Information Note NI – 2012-008″ that was issued by ENAC in August 2012. According to Piero Refolo, the CEO and co-founder of Aermatica SPA, this is an important step along the path to making it possible, in the near future, to use RPAS under controlled and safe conditions for a large number of applications, ranging from environmental survey and anti–pollution control to industrial site and installation monitoring, as well as supporting specific public security and civil protection activities (e.g., monitoring of landslide hazard areas and the search for missing persons in areas affected by natural disasters).
Thanks to this Permit-to-Fly, Aermatica SPA can now proceed with the development of such applications, using its Anteos RPAS, which has already been used in a significant number of projects, often in collaboration with leading industry, academic and institutional partners.
Piero Refolo, said: “For Aermatica, this Permit-to-Fly is a milestone of great importance and is seen as a positive conclusion of the efforts made by us. It is a confirmation of the strategic choices made and will now enable our company to undertake its next developmental, technical and commercial steps.”