New aviation technology can boost economy and benefit society

Using drones and electric aircraft – from remote maintenance to connecting people with mail, medicine and each other - could bring significant potential benefits to the UK economy, according to a new report published today.

Analysis in the Future Flight Challenge, Socio-economic study found that switching to these new technologies could be up to 48% cheaper, deliver faster journey times and improve worker safety when compared to current methods.

To support the widespread and safe use of new aviation technologies, UK Research and Innovation’s Future Flight Challenge wanted to understand the potential costs and benefits of different applications.

The Future Flight Challenge asked PwC to undertake a socio-economic study that could be used to assess six different use cases which represent potentially valuable applications of new aviation technologies:

• Using a drone to inspect a 220km powerline in Scotland which at one point runs more than 2,500ft above sea level rather than sending a two-person team.

• Delivering mail from Inverness to Kirkwall in Scotland by cargo drone instead of using a normal cargo plane.

• Using a drone to deliver medicine from a pharmacy direct to patient homes instead of using a car.

• Using a battery powered sub-regional air taxi instead of the train to travel between York and Preston.

• Using a battery powered air mobility vehicle to travel 25km in a rural area instead of using a car.

• Using a battery powered air mobility vehicle instead of a ridesharing service to travel 10km in a major city.

The study found that using drones to inspect powerlines, deliver mail and medicines could be up to 35% cheaper than the current way. Whilst people travelling from York to Preston could significantly benefit from having access to an electric aircraft. With cheaper fares and travel times potentially halved when compared to completing the journey by train.

Future Flight Challenge Director, Gary Cutts said “The analysis carried out by PwC has been vital in providing us with the evidence to help shape our funding decisions across a diverse range of projects. There is great potential to be had from these new aviation technologies and I hope that businesses in the sector will be encouraged by these results.”

PwC UK Drones Technical Lead, Craig Roberts said “The Future Flight Challenge is playing a pivotal role in shaping the future of aviation in the UK and it has been a pleasure to work with their team to deepen our collective understanding of the potential for new aviation technologies. Our industryleading TIMM (Total Impact Measurement and Management) approach and deep market knowledge enabled us to build a holistic framework which delivered powerful insights into the potential costs and benefits of some exciting use cases.”

Notes to editors

Read the full report here ISCF Future Flight Challenge Socio-economic Study.
Read a summary of the report here

For more information contact:

Future Flight Challenge / UK Research and Innovation – press@ukri.org
PwC - Chris French christopher.c.french@pwc.com

The Future Flight Challenge is funded by £125m from the Industrial Strategy Challenge Fund. It aims to revolutionise the way people, goods and services fly. It will support the development of a novel integrated aviation system around freight-carrying drones, urban air vehicles to hybrid-electric regional aircraft. The challenge will also develop the supporting ground infrastructure, regulation and control systems required to use these new aircraft practically and safely.

UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) is the largest public funder of research and innovation in the UK, with a budget of over £8bn. It is composed of seven disciplinary research councils, Innovate UK and Research England.

We operate across the whole country and work with our many partners in higher education, research organisations businesses, government, and charities.

Our vision is for an outstanding research and innovation system in the UK that gives everyone the opportunity to contribute and to benefit, enriching lives locally, nationally and internationally. Our mission is to convene, catalyse and invest in close collaboration with others to build a thriving, inclusive research and innovation system that connects discovery to prosperity and public good. UKRI continues to support the research and innovation community to navigate the transitions associated with the exit of the UK from the EU. To keep up to date please visit our dedicated pages. https://www.ukri.org/research/international/ukri-eu-exit/

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