Project Caelus wins second Scottish Transport Award      

Project CAELUS, the industry collaboration aiming to use drones to transport essential medical supplies throughout Scotland, scooped the Most Innovative Transport Project of the Year at this year’s Scottish Transport Awards.

A part of the Future Flight Challenge, Caelus is a UKRI industry collaboration between 16 partners including AGS Airports, University of Strathclyde, NATS and NHS Scotland.

The project’s first test flight occurred at Glasgow Airport last year, with a drone flying to the nearby NHS Golden Jubilee hospital. The NATS team supported the flight with safety and airspace management services in what was a UK first at a major international airport inside controlled airspace.

Earlier this year, the work moved to the next stage with a series of pioneering simulations designed to understanding how a one-off flight could be safely scaled to include dozens of drones flying ‘Beyond Visual Line of Sight’ and delivering medicines and blood tests to patients right across Scotland.

Richard Ellis, NATS New Airspace Users Director, said: “For the consortium to win a second award is a fantastic achievement, testament to the hard work of all the partners involved and shows the vital role NATS has to play in the future of flight.

“Our teams will be involved in supporting more live flight trials later this year to showcase how we can integrate BVLOS operations into the airspace, something that will revolutionise not just the way healthcare services are delivered in Scotland, but a host of other industries too.”

Fiona Smith, AGS Airports Group Head of Aerodrome Strategy and CAELUS Project Director, said: “We were delighted when we heard we had been shortlisted in the Scottish Transport Awards earlier this year, so to win is a fantastic achievement.

“Our team will be carrying out more live flight trials later this year to showcase how we can revolutionise the way healthcare services are delivered in Scotland and to provide equity of care.

“This award is testament to the hard work carried out by all the partners involved in this consortium and I thank them all as we continue onto the next phase of the project.”

Caelus was previously recognised at the 2022 awards for Excellence in Technology & Innovation.