Mönchengladbach Airport (MGL) consistently develops sustainable and forward-looking solutions for air traffic. Various drives and concepts such as SkyCab and OpAL have already made great progress. In November 2022, the next funding commitment for a project with MGL participation was added.
Around 500,000 euros will be invested at the Mönchengladbach site to establish a stable flight operations concept for the safe, predictable and weather-independent operation of manned and unmanned aircraft, with 150,000 euros going to MGL.
In cooperation with the project team consisting of FH Aachen University of Applied Sciences, DRONIQ GmbH, Paderborn/Lippstadt Airports and the city of Mönchengladbach, safe flight procedures for air cabs and drones are being researched, tested and subsequently made available to the public under the name "SkyTRACKplus", together with air traffic control.
The goal is to facilitate the broad deployment of innovative air mobility solutions based on the research results to date in this area. MGL's infrastructure makes it suitable as a multimodal mobility hub that will make NRW a center for green mobility and electric flight.
First certified electric aircraft takes off
Also in November, the first test rounds of a climate-neutral electric aircraft from Westflug Flight Training GmbH & Co.KG, sponsored by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, were made between Mönchengladbach and Aachen. The "Velis Electro" model from the Slovenian manufacturer Pipistrel is the only aircraft of its kind to be certified by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and provides further important data for implementation in real traffic.
