The Dronehub at Groningen Airport Eelde has secured 1.1 million euros in subsidies to help the area develop into a national centre of expertise and training grounds for drone flights.
Translation by Traci White
The vast majority of the funding for the Dronehub came from the Northern Netherlands Cooperation Agency (SNN), which provided 900,000 euros in funding, and the three northern provinces are also subsidising the hub. Groningen and Friesland gave subsidies worth 68,000 euros to the hub, and Drenthe paid 91,000 euros.
GAE is the only airport in the Netherlands where drone flights are permitted. Over the past year, Dagblad van het Noorden reports that tests have been carried out with drone usage for monitoring agricultural land, specifically fertiliser use, transporting medication to the Wadden Islands (with mixed results) and as a tool by fire departments. This spring, the hub is hoping to be able to conduct the first official drone flight from the airport.
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