”The U-space simulation contributes to a more concrete and practical understanding of the future development of drones in Skåne. It opens up new possibilities and highlights the work that remains to be done before the introduction of U-space. In addition, it clearly complements the knowledge base that Region Skåne has developed on innovative air mobility”, says Rocky Cueva Alban, Regional community planner, Region Skåne.
Challenges
Region Skåne is one of the first two locations designated for U‑space implementation in Sweden and needed an evidence‑based simulation to understand how drone logistics could operate across the Malmö–Lund–Sturup and Kristianstad–Hässleholm corridors by 2030. The region sought to visualise realistic traffic volumes, routing constraints, and operational interactions with manned aviation, while respecting environmental and social sensitivities.
The challenge was to integrate healthcare logistics – characterized by frequent, time-sensitive deliveries of small parcels such as lab samples and medicines – with the safe design of airspace around controlled airports, heliports, and sensitive areas like nature reserves, sports grounds, and cemeteries. At the same time, the aim was to explore how U-space, geographic UAS (Unmanned Aircraft System) zones, and dynamic airspace reconfiguration (DAR) could support scalable operations without compromising safety.
The region also wanted to ground decisions in the EU regulatory framework (EASA U‑space regulations 2021/664–666, SERA, and operational rules under 2019/947) and in AIP/AIRAC (Aeronautical Information Publication And Control) publishing cycles, so that any future deployment aligns with national aeronautical information and predictable change management.
Solutions
Naviation AB (via VNTRS) conducted a simulation‑driven workshop combining a plain‑language regulatory overview with high‑fidelity desktop simulations of U‑space corridors and urban drone movements.
The work focused on two geographies: Malmö-Lund-Sturup and Kristianstad-Hässleholm, and drew corridors that avoid crowd‑prone and protected areas by shaping U‑space boundaries and where appropriate, proposing restrictive UAS zones. For Malmö-Lund, bidirectional corridors were laid out and extended locally (e.g., Arlöv, Åkarp, Staffanstorp, Bara) to avoid excluding communities that would experience traffic and noise. For Kristianstad-Hässleholm, a slightly curved corridor was designed to serve intermediate towns and to reduce interactions with an uncontrolled aerodrome, anticipating Transportstyrelsen’s future publication of corresponding UAS conditions.
The solution explicitly modelled interactions with controlled airspace (e.g., Sturup Control Zone), showing how DAR could open and close inner sectors for drone traffic when manned traffic departs or arrives, and how priority operations such as search and rescue or ambulance helicopter may require short‑notice closures.
In parallel, the team discussed enablers like Remote ID (Direct Remote ID/Network Remote ID), ADS‑B/Mode‑S/WAM (technologies for position surveillance of aeronautics) receiver setups, and integration with AIP/AIRAC for legal publication. The final deliverables included a communication video, a comprehensive report with assumptions, results and recommendations, and GeoJSON geometries of corridors and zones for further municipal analysis.
Results and Benefits
The simulation established a realistic, conservative traffic baseline for 2030, aligning with CORUS ConOps evolution – a European project developing concepts for U-space, describing the systems operation in practice – as well as today’s Swedish implementation pace.
In the Malmö-Lund-Sturup area the peak intensity was modelled at ≈48 delivery missions per hour, supported by 18 concurrently operating delivery drones alongside six stationary drones for policing and inspection; this yields an average of ≈36 missions per hour across a 12‑hour window and ≈432 missions per day, corresponding to ≈0.29 flights/km²/h in the daily average – firmly within late U2/early U3 expectations and far below stress‑test capacities shown in CORUS‑XUAM trials.Practically, this means Region Skåne can plan corridors that are technically and operationally feasible with ample capacity headroom. For healthcare logistics, the analysis linked drone corridors to existing postal and lab schedules between Malmö-Lund and Kristianstad-Hässleholm, illustrating how frequent small‑parcel flows (e.g., lab samples, blood components, medicines) could shift from road to air for time‑critical routes, reducing lead times and emissions while improving reliability in bad traffic or weather.
The simulation also highlighted “Nära vård” use cases – home care sampling with autonomous return‑to‑lab flights and suggested how U‑space authorisation plus automated heliport coordination (via app‑based systems such as Dronerequest®/Authorizer or equivalents) could scale operations safely around the Lund hospital heliport.
On airspace safety and governance, benefits include clear design patterns for avoiding sensitive zones, concrete methods to coordinate with ATS (Air Traffic Services), and examples of sector‑based DAR near airports to protect manned approaches and departures while keeping drone logistics running in surrounding sectors.
The work gives municipalities an actionable starting point for U‑space and geographic UAS‑zone combinations, aligned with AIP/AIRAC timelines and regulations, reducing policy and integration risk. Strategically, Region Skåne can decide whether to establish or partner for U-space service capabilities, thereby managing service pricing and quality rather than relying solely on external providers.
Overall, the results strengthen the business case for drone‑enabled healthcare and civic logistics, enhance regional connectivity, and support sustainable transport objectives with a pathway to beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) scale‑up under Swedish and EU regulations.
Perceived Social and Economic Impact
Drone logistics integrated via U‑space can improve access to care through faster lab turnaround, medicine delivery as well as reduce road mileage and emissions, and increase resilience during disruptions.
For municipalities, corridor‑based airspace planning fosters transparent governance of low‑altitude operations and supports future Urban Advanced Air Mobility integration. For regional businesses, reliable small‑parcel flows create new service models and data‑driven operations (Remote ID, conformance monitoring).
Social acceptance improves when traffic is informed by community dialogue and carefully routed to minimise noise while preserving equitable access to services outside city centres.
Overall, the project positions Region Skåne to adopt safe, efficient BVLOS operations and contributes to Sweden’s leadership in digital airspace management and sustainable transport.
Lessons Learned
Do’s: Engage ATS and heliport operators early to align procedures, priorities, and DAR windows – proactive coordination greatly reduces operational friction. Design U‑space boundaries and corridors to avoid nature reserves, sports grounds, cemeteries and crowd‑prone areas from the start to improve social acceptance and limit the need for temporary restrictions.
Base all planning on AIP/AIRAC to ensure legal publication and predictable change cycles, and integrate Remote ID and surveillance feeds (ADS‑B/Mode‑S/WAM) to build a reliable traffic picture for both manned and unmanned users.
Don’ts: Do not assume constant availability of inner airport sectors – priority missions as search and rescue or ambulance helicopter will at times close drone access on short notice, so avoid designs that depend on uninterrupted use.
Don’t rely on generic, one‑size‑fits‑all routes; local airspace facts such as methods for manned aeronautics procedures, visual approaches, model‑flying areas and control zone nuances can invalidate simplistic layouts. Don’t postpone restrictive UAS‑zone applications when persistent avoidance is needed; formal zones may be required to guarantee traffic‑free areas.
Don’t treat healthcare corridors only as time‑savings projects – in Skåne the value is more about robustness, sustainability and access than headline speed versus road traffic.
“Simulations of innovative aerial mobility are a critical enabler for translating the EU Drone Strategy 2.0 into practical regional implementation. Region Skåne’s initiative to combine early U-space deployment with geographic analysis, municipal collaboration, and advanced airspace simulation is both forward-looking and necessary.
By quantifying future air traffic volumes towards 2030 and visualising the interaction between U-space airspace, geographical UAS zones, restricted areas, environmental considerations, and urban planning, the region is creating a shared, evidence-based decision foundation. This system-level perspective is precisely what the EU Drone Strategy calls for to enable scalable, safe, and socially beneficial aerial mobility.
For Aero EDIH, this work is particularly valuable as it connects policy, technology, spatial planning, and market readiness. The outcomes of the simulations — including visualisations, stakeholder workshops, and transparent documentation of assumptions and scenarios — strengthen the region’s capacity to make informed decisions and position Skåne as a leading test and deployment environment for future aerial services in Sweden and across Europe.”, says Rasmus Lundqvist, Innovation Lead, Aero EDIH
