The airport, which receives an annual municipal operating grant of approximately 30 million SEK, has a ready-controlled airspace that could accommodate both a jumbo jet and a drone operation simultaneously, Jesper Low, CEO of Norrköping Airport AB, told SVT Nyheter. To support these dual operations, Norrköping Airport AB proposes to increase its borrowing limit from the municipality from 75 million to 100 million SEK, according to multiple reports.
UMS Skeldar, a Saab-owned company based in Linköping, has been attracted by the opportunities in Norrköping. According to SVT Nyheter, Tomas Karlsson, Marketing Manager at UMS Skeldar, described the drone industry as very hot, with a strong focus on delivering systems to customers. Saab has its own airport in Linköping, but it is congested both in the air and on the ground. Sofia Brantfelt, Training Manager at UMS Skeldar, told SVT Nyheter that Norrköping Airport offers the possibility to use the airspace and have own facilities for training and flight testing.
We have a ready-controlled airspace. In practice, we could have a jumbo jet and a drone operation in the same controlled airspace.
Around ten destinations are considered current for regular flights, Jesper Low said. According to Norrköpings Tidningar, Low described having been in contact with airlines across Europe and hopes to receive a decision during the spring. It remains unclear which airlines have been contacted or the specific destinations under consideration.
It is a very hot industry. We have a strong focus on delivering systems to our customers at the moment.
It is precisely because the opportunities given by Norrköping Airport are that we can be in the airspace and have our own facilities where we can conduct training and flight testing.