Seinäjoki prepares airport for long-range drone tests

Seinäjoki Airport will host drone tests from November 3, as developers explore longer flights and potential commercial services, Yle reports. Finland’s Transport and Communications Agency, Traficom, has approved a temporary danger area for the testing.

The permit allows drones to fly routes where pilots do not have to keep the aircraft in sight. The tests will begin with small drones and short flights, then move towards longer routes and trials with businesses, says Petri Luhtala, project manager for the test environment at West Avia.

One possible commercial use is delivering pharmacy products to homes from the Ideapark shopping centre near Seinäjoki. Elisabet Kivimäki, business development manager at Into Seinäjoki, says the project has discussed the idea with an Italian company.

The test area also includes the Roveksen industrial district, which is home to about 500 businesses. Its six sub-areas can be activated separately. The permit is valid from November 3, 2026, to April 14, 2027; a new permit must be applied for after that.

Seinäjoki’s real airport provides a setting to test how crewed and uncrewed aircraft can operate safely together. The longer-term goal is to develop systems that provide a real-time picture of all aircraft in the air. Kivimäki cautioned that establishing a test area does not mean drones can fly anywhere.

Scheduled passenger services from Rengonharju Airport ended in 2011. The drone project received 200,000 euros in parliamentary funding late last year, but further funding is needed, Luhtala said.

Tags: Seinäjoki, drones, aviation