Improving the planning and management of flight contingencies in the scalable deployment of drone operations
We are entering a new era of aviation that will transform how people and goods move through our cities. A new generation of airspace users—drones and urban air mobility vehicles—is rapidly emerging, with forecasts predicting very high traffic densities over major European cities in the coming decades. To safely manage this growth, Europe has been developing U‑space, a dedicated traffic management framework for unmanned aviation, including new services, regulations, and operational roles.
Despite this progress, important challenges remain. One of the most critical gaps is the lack of predictable and standardised procedures to handle abnormal or failure situations, which are essential for safe large‑scale urban operations.
U‑LAND addresses this challenge by expanding and improving U‑space services to make urban air mobility safer and more reliable. Bringing together leading research groups from UPC and UAB, the project focuses on enhancing mission planning, contingency management, and airspace design. Through advanced modelling, simulation, and real flight trials, U‑DRONE develops new U‑space services and tools that support safe operations even under off‑nominal conditions, contributing to the future of sustainable urban aviation.