Enaire, Spain’s national air navigation manager, is promoting the European “OperA” (Operate Anywhere) project to validate the flights of the future in controlled, uncontrolled and U-Space airspace. On Tuesday, in collaboration with Aena, a helicopter made four flights between Malaga-Costa del Sol and Federico García Lorca Granada-Jaén airports to test the procedures that a piloted air taxi or autonomous cargo drones would follow in different types of airspace.
According to a statement from the Ministry of Transport, the aim of this demonstration is to ‘give the green light to the mode of operation for this type of flight, which will form part of the airspace in the near future’.vThe tests seek to verify ‘that the routes designed by Enaire and the operating procedures allow these aircraft, whether piloted, remote or autonomous, to fly in controlled and uncontrolled airspace, to coexist without interfering with the normal activity of airports and conventional aircraft, while ensuring the highest level of operational safety for all users of the air system’.
The “OperA” advanced air mobility project, under agreement ID: 101114694, under the “Horizon Europe” programme and supported by the SESAR 3 Joint Undertaking, has total funding of approximately €9.52 million and an EU contribution of around €5.97 million. This European research and innovation initiative in advanced air mobility seeks to validate new piloted air taxi operations and unmanned cargo in controlled, uncontrolled and U-Space airspace.
According to the consortium, “OperA” ‘represents a decisive step towards the safe and efficient integration of electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft in all types of airspace, contributing to the creation of a more sustainable and connected European digital sky’. The consortium behind the “ÓperA” project is led by the multinational technology company Honeywell and includes Aena, Enaire, Crida, Eurocontrol, and manufacturers such as Pipistrel and Vertical Aerospace, among others.
With this initiative, ‘Enaire reinforces its commitment to innovation in airspace, the integration of new forms of mobility and the digital transformation of air traffic in Europe,’ said the company, which is part of the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, the state manager of air navigation in Spain.
Earlier this month, ENAIRE participated in the Smart City Expo World Congress 2025, an international event on urban innovation held at the Fira de Barcelona, joining a roundtable focused on technologies that enable the integration of drones in urban environments, with visitors from 135 countries. Rodrigo Benedit, a technician in ENAIRE’s Drone Business Development Department, spoke in the session titled U-space and Enabling Technologies for Integrating Drones in Urban Environments, dedicated to analysing how cities can prepare to integrate drone operations safely and sustainably.