Airports
Wichita Airport To Train Ops Officers As Drone Pilots
The decision to train Wichita Eisenhower National Airport staff as drone operators comes after successful proof-of-concept flights this summer.
Wichita Eisenhower National Airport operations officers will integrate the use of drones into their daily routine following successful proof-of-concept flights this summer. (Photo: Brian Cowles/Wichita Airport Authority)
Wichita Eisenhower National Airport operations officers will integrate the use of drones into their daily routine following successful proof-of-concept flights this summer. (Photo: Brian Cowles/Wichita Airport Authority)

Following successful proof-of-concept drone flights at Kansas’s largest commercial airport this summer, the operations staff of Wichita Eisenhower National Airport (ICT) will begin training to fly drones and earn their Part 107 remote pilot licenses over the next few months, Wichita Airport Authority operations manager Brian Cowles told AIN. It will allow the airport’s six operations officers—including Cowles—to fly drones for airfield inspections and other tasks, making ICT one of the first airports in the country to integrate unmanned aerial systems (UAS) into its daily operations.