Drone operations in and around airports are among the most complex and regulated environments within aviation. Not only because of the airspace itself, but especially because of the need for direct, reliable and procedural communication with Air Traffic Control (ATC).
At Skyebase, we have recently taken an important step: we have an official radio license and a mobile, extendable antenna setup up to 11 meters, specially designed to communicate directly with airport towers in Belgium and the Netherlands.
Why Radio Communication Is Crucial in Airport Operations
In standard drone operations, communication is often indirect: via NOTAMs, e-mail, telephone coordination or digital platforms. This is sufficient in many cases, but not when:
- operations take place within CTRs or airport zones
- there is actively manned traffic
- timing, height and position must be dynamically adjusted
In that context, voice communication with ATC is the only way to:
- share the same situational awareness
- avoid misinterpretations
- respond immediately to changing circumstances
Radio communication means: the same language, the same procedures, the same safety logic as manned aviation.
Plug-and-play radio communication, even in complex environments
Our ICOM mobile radio configuration is deliberately designed as a plug-and-play solution:
- extendable mast up to 11 meters
- fast build-up from a mobile platform
- stable and reliable radio connection to the tower
- can be used on temporary locations and complex industrial sites
This allows us to:
- establish radio contact where fixed infrastructure is lacking
- setting up operations without heavy site modifications
- flexible switching between different airports and countries
Important: this setup is not an experiment, but an operational tool that is fully within the applicable aviation procedures.
Safety as a common thread
Radio communication provides an additional, crucial layer of security on top of the existing mitigations within a drone operation. It allows clearances to be confirmed immediately, to receive up-to-date traffic information directly from the tower and to react much faster when an abnormal situation occurs. In this way, the termination of an operation is also clear and unambiguous, without room for interpretation.
This makes the fundamental difference between thinking that an operation is safe and knowing that it is, because every step is explicitly confirmed by Air Traffic Control. For airports, industrial clients and regulators, this is not a detail, but a clear sign of operational maturity and professional risk management.
Fully in line with EASA drone legislation
Our approach fits in seamlessly with the European drone legislation (EASA), which focuses on risk-based working, safe integration into the airspace and controlled interaction with manned traffic. Radio communication plays a key role in this: it supports SORA mitigations, increases operational reliability and enables demonstrable compliance in complex and controlled airspaces. In other words, radio communication is not an “extra” or optional addition, but a logical and necessary part of professional drone use where safety and aviation integration are paramount.
Radio Operator as a Service – also for other drone operators
We do not only use this radio capacity for our own operations. Skyebase offers this as a plug-and-play radio service for other professional drone operators and industrial players operating in or near airports, requiring temporary access to ATC communications, or not having the required licenses, equipment or procedures themselves. In concrete terms, this means Radio Operator as a Service: deployable on location, fully in accordance with the applicable aviation procedures and without heavy preparation or investments on the customer side.
This allows other operators to fully focus on their mission, while Skyebase is responsible for radio communication and safe, professional integration into the controlled airspace. Do you work as a drone operator or industrial party in an airport environment and do you want to take your operations to a higher level of safety and maturity? Then contact us and discover how our plug-and-play Radio Operator as a Service connects your operation safely, compliantly and seamlessly to Air Traffic Control — so you can focus on what really matters: a successful mission.
