At Aerial Cities 2024, industry leaders tackled a critical question: How can the drone sector move beyond proof-of-concept operations and into sustainable, revenue-generating businesses?
In this panel, experts from all around the world shared real-world examples of successful drone operations, from high-volume food deliveries to commercial beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flights, and debated the role of AI, detect-and-avoid systems, and satellite communications in shaping the next stage of growth. With profitability and scalability within reach, the industry stands at a pivotal moment — but achieving success will require continued collaboration between businesses, regulators, and technology leaders.
Moderated by Lorenzo Murzilli, Co-founder and CEO of Murzilli Consulting, this dynamic panel brought together key figures from across the industry such as Carlos Hernandez Medel, CCO at Telespazio Ibérica; Duncan Casey, UK Head of Airworthiness & Certification at Amazon Prime Air; Bobby Healy, Founder and CEO at Manna Drone Delivery; Alex Brown, Director at Skyports Drone Services; Glen Lynch, CEO at Volatus Aerospace; and Ewa Gowers, Head of SARG Operations & Programmes at the UK Civil Aviation Authority — filling in for and representing Sofia Stayte, Head of Future of Flight Policy at the UK Department for Transport (DfT).
From unlocking BVLOS operations to navigating complex regulatory frameworks and leveraging AI for efficiency, the panellists laid out a roadmap for progress. With the right alignment of innovative technology, regulatory agility, and commercial viability, the drone industry is poised to take off — at scale.
Scaling profitability and revenue generation: The core industry challenges
The panel began by addressing the need for the drone industry to move beyond proof-of-concept operations to sustainable, revenue-generating businesses.
Glen of Volatus Aerospace highlighted that to generate revenue companies need to continue building operational efficiencies and strategic partnerships. Although, he noted, the regulatory burden tends to slow down these partnerships a bit.
“We understand why it's there, and I think the regulators are generally doing a pretty good job moving along or trying to keep up. It's a tough job with the pace the industry is moving, but at the end of the day, those are the things that are going to drive it,” explained Glen.
He also noted that a key factor for determining profitability and success in new markets is identifying legitimate end-user demand. Economic viability is also very important, especially now that markets are not as receptive as they were in 2021, as Glen highlighted.
Yet, a few companies manage to find a way. Bobby of Manna Drone Delivery shared the company’s success in achieving profitability through high-volume, suburban food delivery. He explained that Manna is building a different type of business where they want to have a commercial relationship with every suburban house on the planet – which means giving the people what they ask for.
With 30% of Manna’s flights dedicated to coffee deliveries, their operations in Dublin have demonstrated the potential of addressing everyday consumer needs. Manna now completes thousands of flights per month with just four aircraft, further proving the efficiency of their service.
“We can do it safer, quieter, greener, cheaper, and faster, in a way that customers are absolutely loving,” Bobby stated.
The challenge for Manna has always been unit economics. While the company now makes money on every flight, there is still a lot of room for opportunity as regulation moves slowly.
“It’s a regulator’s job to power those small businesses to enable them in a way that’s not onerous, that moves quickly, that lets us build product, fly product, and generate revenue,” Bobby added.
Carlos Hernandez from Telespazio Iberica reinforced the importance of progressive business models, sharing the need to generate revenue since the early stages and examples of profitable operations in agriculture and U-space services. He emphasised that risk management is crucial for having a long-term sustainable business.
Representing the UK Department for Transport (DfT), Ewa emphasised the importance of commercial viability in aviation regulation. Unlike other regulators, the UK model follows a user-pays principle, meaning that industry success directly impacts regulatory funding.
To generate revenue, achieve profitability, and scale, businesses must balance cost recovery, safety, and innovation. While protecting people requires stricter safety measures, enabling aerospace development demands a degree of calculated risk.
“In order to protect people, you need it to be safer; but actually, in order to enable aerospace, you need to take further risks,” Ewa explained.
Evidently, striking this balance is key to sustainable growth in the sector.
The need for regulatory harmonisation and operational frameworks
The discussion then turned to the need for harmonised regulations and operational frameworks, which are clearly essential for scaling drone operations.
Alex of Skyports Drone Services highlighted the challenge of inconsistent BVLOS regulations across regions. He explained that if companies have a regulatory framework to refer to, they can then get customers, show that drones and safe and reliable, and much more.
“It’s as simple as that (...) a bad framework is better than no framework,” Alex stated, emphasising the importance of having a predictable regulatory environment – even if not one of excellent quality.
He highlighted that while high-value, lower-volume use cases such as offshore delivery and inspections face fewer regulatory hurdles, long-range BVLOS operations remain difficult due to the lack of a clear framework.
Duncan from Prime Air echoed these sentiments, noting the progress made in the US and Italy – where commercial operations are underway – versus the delays in the UK and the need to get past the sandbox initiatives.
“We need the path that takes us beyond the data-gathering exercises that I think the sandboxes are there to achieve,” Duncan said.
He emphasised the importance of closing regulatory gaps and creating scalable models for the future, urging regulators to come together to define the next steps to go into those commercial operations.
“Harmonising these languages makes implementing the system in all of these different regions easier and scalable,” he added.
From the regulatory perspective, Ewa explained the complexities of tailoring frameworks to specific national needs. The UK's focus is not only on the Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) but specifically on developing a UK version of the SORA that caters to all their particular needs and specifications.
“Our UK airspace model has to take that into consideration when we’re implementing SORA,” she explained.
Ewa went on to describe the complexities of implementing and harmonising regulation across nations. The fact is: The airspace, air risks, and ground risks are different for each country that implements it.
“SORA, yes, will be the guiding light and principle across everything; but each country is going to have a slightly different dynamic of how they implement that,” added Ewa.
For now, regulators are trying to navigate that and make these frameworks as universal as possible.
Technological innovation and future challenges: Enabling the next stage of growth
Technology was another critical area of discussion, particularly the role of detect-and-avoid systems and satellite integration.
Duncan detailed Prime Air’s multi-layered detect-and-avoid approach, combining ADS-B surveillance, optical systems, and strategic airspace management. He explained that this approach was one of the key enablers for scaling early on, and now it is probably one of Prime Air’s most heavily focused-on areas.
“A message that's clear from a lot of comparable services is that the drone is just one component; it's more about the infrastructure, the end-to-end chain, and the technologies,” Duncan explained, emphasising that all these layers combined achieve the target levels of safety that go beyond equivalent operations in manned aviation.
On that note, Carlos Hernandez highlighted the role of satellite technology in ensuring reliable communications and navigation. While urban aerial operations rely on radio links and 5G, these can be unreliable due to signal blockages between buildings. Satellite communications provide a dependable foundation for control and data transmission.
“Satellite communications can act as a backbone for safety-critical applications in dense urban environments,” he explained, emphasising the potential of satellite-based GNSS systems to improve accuracy for drone operations, particularly in SAIL III and IV categories.
Carlos Hernandez also noted that GPS and Galileo are essential for navigation but can suffer from accuracy issues in urban environments due to signal interference. To ensure precise positioning, Telespazio is researching sensor fusion and advanced algorithms to enhance navigation integrity for drone operations.
Still on the importance of technology, Glen emphasised the growing potential of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance drone autonomy and operational efficiency.
“AI will be critical for decision-making in complex environments and handling large data volumes,” he said, pointing to its role in scaling larger drones and advanced operations.
As Glen noted, while infrastructure plays a significant role in ensuring profitability and success, business must leverage technology to maximise efficiency.
The road ahead: What’s needed to unlock full potential
Looking to the future, panellists concluded the session by addressing the key factors needed to advance the industry.
Ewa, speaking for the DfT, stressed the need for investment in ground infrastructure, including electronic conspicuity systems and scalable detect-and-avoid technologies. She emphasised that while regulatory frameworks are progressing, the next critical steps are to develop the right ground infrastructure and to ensure funding for it.
Key priorities for the DfT include enabling interoperable electronic conspicuity and implementing robust detect-and-avoid systems to replace traditional "see and avoid" methods. Additionally, an Aviation-assured C2 link is needed for secure communications, along with standards for platform integrity, pilot competency frameworks, and optimised digital application platforms.
Other essential factors include an effective oversight regime, safety management systems, and societal acceptance concerning noise, environment, security, and safety. All of this must align with developments in commercial air transport, making it a complex but actively progressing effort.
Both Alex and Bobby underscored the necessity of comprehensive BVLOS regulatory frameworks to unlock scalability. Bobby explained that UK regulation remains the key hurdle when it comes to expanding, noting that Manna is already operating successfully in other European regions. Once regulatory frameworks are available in the UK, the transition will be way smoother.
“Having an audited, external, confident view of your aircraft is going to be key to scaling,” Bobby explained.
Alex agreed, highlighting that companies like Skyports are unfortunately limited to small-scale operations without the presence of BVLOS regulatory frameworks.
Carlos Hernandez emphasised U-space deployment as a crucial next step for progress. He agreed with industry peers on existing challenges but stressed that operations need effective and fully qualified detect-and-avoid systems – or a well-implemented U-space framework – to enable safe integration.
Additionally, he emphasised the need to move beyond airspace segregation, as continued separation limits commercial viability.
"With the segregation of the airspace, we cannot make business," he stated, underlining the importance of integration for industry growth.
Glen pointed to the need for advancements in AI technology and autonomy to handle the complexities of large-scale operations.
“Not just technology that's capable of doing the job, but that can be integrated into the systems and not knock the unit economics out of whack,” he said, explaining that the continued evolution of AI will be essential for improving both operational efficiency and autonomy.
The panellists' insights underscore the importance of collaboration, technological innovation, and regulatory alignment in shaping the future of urban air mobility. With profitability and scalability within reach, the drone industry stands at a pivotal moment. As moderator Lorenzo Murzilli concluded, the industry is moving forward, but continued collaboration between regulators, businesses, and stakeholders remains essential for success.
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