Aerial Solutions wins IATA Innovation Award

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Wednesday, 22 March 2017

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has awarded Kenya-based Astral Aerial Solutions the IATA Air Cargo Innovation Award for 2017 in recognition of its Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) Concept for Africa. 

Astral Aerial’s project seeks to lay the foundation for safe, secure and effective UAS operations and integration into existing airspace to ultimately allow the expansion of air cargo in Africa.

Astral won US$20,000 for the system.

"It is great to see a developing nation company helping to drive the innovation that is needed throughout the global air cargo industry," said Glyn Hughes, IATA’s global head of Cargo.

To choose the winning entry, an independent jury of industry experts, academics and ceos of leading logistics companies evaluated 46 entries from across the industry. 

Projects were evaluated based upon the idea, its potential to create value, and the likelihood of it achieving success.