Within the framework of the international private-public partnership project "OperA", Latvian air transport company State JSC "Latvijas Gaisa satiksme" together with its Lithuanian colleagues is currently carrying out preparatory work and route planning for the first cargo test flights from Palanga to Liepāja and back in summer next year.
Liepaja Airport is already ready to receive such aircraft, and it is only a matter of time before merchants start building warehouses and cargo handling centers at Liepāja Airport as drone aviation develops.
Artūrs Kokars, Director of the Aviation Department of the Ministry of Transport, pointed out that the use of drones in aviation can stimulate the development of regional airports.
"Because these services are much lower cost, they are more competitive and also have high mobility," Kokars explained.
The drone model to be used for the test flights has a wingspan of about 13 meters, a length of 12 meters, a height of 3 meters, a maximum take-off mass of 1.7 tonnes, and can carry a load of up to 460 kilograms.
The route is still being finalized, as various risks and conditions have to be taken into account - for example, to avoid areas where flights are not allowed for various reasons. The flight altitude will be over 600 meters.
The Director of the Aviation Department of the Transport Ministry noted, "This type of flights could be developed within Latvia or cross-border flights or even flights over the Baltic Sea. If we are able to take out even the cost of pilots' salaries from the transport component, then this segment becomes commercially viable."
Test flights on the Palanga-Liepaja-Palanga route are scheduled for August next year, and after evaluating the results, the project stakeholders will be able to decide whether any further technical improvements are needed or whether they can start working on regular schedules right away.