Cotswold Airport identified as potential UK hub for drones and advanced aviation

Cotswold Airport could become a major UK centre for drones, advanced air mobility and aerospace testing under proposals for the government to accelerate airspace reforms at regional airports.

image: Vertical Aerospace

The call has been made by the Good Growth Foundation (GGF), which says the airport at Kemble in Gloucestershire is well placed to support emerging aviation technologies because of its existing aerospace activity, available operational space and relatively low levels of airspace congestion.

In its report A Golden Ticket for Government, the think tank estimates that developing Cotswold Airport as a dedicated testing and certification centre could support between 300 and 450 direct jobs. The report describes the figures as illustrative and says the economic impact would require site-specific modelling.

Cotswold Airport already has a growing presence in the emerging advanced aviation sector. Vertical Aerospace operates a flight-test centre at the airport and announced plans in August to establish a manufacturing facility there as it progresses towards commercial production of its electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.

The airport has also developed an established business around aircraft storage, maintenance and related aviation services. Its management announced a new executive structure in May as part of plans to expand its hangarage and aviation capabilities.

GGF is proposing that Cotswold could eventually replicate a model being developed at Lydd Airport in Kent, where the foundation is calling for the creation of Special Use Airspace (SUA) to allow drones, autonomous aircraft and conventional aviation to operate within a managed environment.

The report argues that lower levels of congestion and greater operational flexibility at regional airports can make them particularly suitable locations for testing and developing new aviation technologies. It suggests that a successful model at Lydd could subsequently be applied at other sites, including Cotswold Airport, Humberside and Doncaster Sheffield.

Praful Nargund, director of the Good Growth Foundation, said Cotswold Airport's existing capabilities could be turned into a source of innovation and long-term economic security for the local area.

The foundation is calling on Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to use existing government powers to prioritise and accelerate airspace changes. It argues that the approach could support new commercial activity in areas including drone inspection, logistics, maintenance, aerospace manufacturing, flight testing, software and airspace management.

GGF argues that regional airports should be considered not simply in terms of their traditional passenger operations, but as potential locations for research, development, manufacturing, testing and emerging aviation services.