Air transport safety in UAV operational conditions

Abstract

The article presents the possibilities of using unmanned aerial vehicles in air transport. The use of UAVs in the airspace has become widespread, despite many implemented legal regulations, there are many incidents that threaten not only aircraft during the flight, but also the airport infrastructure. The potential threats and the chances of implementing remedial measures were analyzed. An attempt to evaluate the possibility of maintaining aviation safety at an appropriate level in the conditions of UAV operational conditions has been done. The main research problem was defined as follows: How would implementing unmanned aerial vehicles into the air transport system influence the acceptable level of safety? The article uses theoretical methods such as: system analysis, analysis and synthesis in the field of literature, analogy, comparative method. In terms of empirical methods, an original diagnostic survey was carried out, based on a selected group of people related to the explored topic. In addition, the observation method was used by the feedbacks and observations of the group of air traffic controllers from civil airports (located in Poland). The article describes the current transformation of air transport, taking into account the planned modernizations. It presents the PansaUTM system as one of the countermeasures, monitoring and securing the movement in the airspace. Furthermore, the transponder issue was raised in relation to the enhancement of the UAV identification system, with a  detailed explanation of the importance of the TCAS (Traffic Collision Avoidance System). Referring to the prospects for the development of air transport, the latest design concepts for cargo drones were presented. The issue of full transport autonomy of UAVs was analyzed based on the requirements of legal regulations. The comparison of benefits and threats in conjunction with the conducted empirical methods allowed for the development of conclusions confirming the research hypothesis and indicating the possibility of using remedial measures in the process of UAV evolution.