#97 Julie Garland, Avtrain: Drone business and regulation in Europe

Описание: In this episode we’re joined by Julie Garland, CEO of Avtrain, for a deep dive into the current state of the drone industry and regulation across Europe. Julie shares her perspective on why societal acceptance is just as critical as regulatory approval. We explore how operators like Manna are working to normalize drone activity and influence regulations, and why simplifying regulatory frameworks, including the SORA process, is essential to enable broader adoption of drone operations.

The conversation also sheds light on the limited number of authorized SAIL III operations across EASA member states and the challenges operators face in meeting technical validation requirements, often by building their own aircraft. Julie walks us through promising commercial use cases, from consumer delivery to infrastructure inspection to airport operations, and outlines how digitization and standardization could unlock more scalable, efficient drone deployments.

07:49 Community acceptance of drones
16:52 Drone noise complaints
20:00 Trajectory of drone use and regulations in Europe
29:40 SORA 2.5 and simplifying low-risk operations
38:40 Defining SAIL levels
45:21 Solving For Detect and Avoid
51:52  The ultimate streamlined rollout
57:29 Update on use cases
01:02:56 Digitization of SORA
01:07:24 Who's making money in the drone industry today?