KDDI : JAL and KDDI Collaborate to Create Social Infrastructure for Drones

• Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.
• KDDI CORPORATION

February 15,2022

Japan Airlines Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, President: AKASAKA Yuji, Representative Director; hereinafter JAL), KDDI CORPORATION (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President: TAKAHASHI Makoto, hereinafter KDDI) signed Memorandum of Understanding on February 15, 2022 to jointly study the establishment of systems for flight management and a business model with the aim of turning drones into a social infrastructure (hereinafter this Alliance).

With the lifting of the ban on "Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight (Level 4 flight)", which is scheduled to go into effect in fiscal 2022, drones are expected to be used as a new aerial infrastructure by companies and local governments in various fields such as logistics, inspection, and disaster response.
Through this Alliance, the two companies will utilize JAL's flight safety technologies and expertise in KDDI's Unmanned Aerial Traffic Management (UTM) system [1] to promote the transformation into a digital society. In addition to contributing to the transformation of drones into social infrastructure and promoting the transformation into a digital society, which has become urgent due to the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), we will also contribute to the revitalization of regions where the population is declining and aging at an accelerating pace, and the creation of new services that will enrich our daily lives.

■Outline of this Alliance

By combining UTM system developed by KDDI for multiple drone operators with JAL's air transport business technology and expertise in flight management, including safety management related to air travel, we will build systems for performing flight management, such as collision avoidance, in the airspace where multiple drones are flying around the country. We will also contribute to the institutionalization and creation of guidelines necessary for the promotion of the drone industry.

We will examine business models that provide consulting and resources to companies and municipalities that want to utilize drones. In addition to transporting goods by drones in remote island areas in fiscal 2022, we will conduct demonstrations to meet a variety of needs, and build a drone utilization business based on the demonstrations.

The two companies have accumulated knowledge and experience through simultaneous demonstration tests of multiple drones [2], delivery of pharmaceuticals in Hyogo Prefecture [3], and the first demonstration test of drones crossing multiple major bridges in Tokyo [4], with the aim of making drones automatic and autonomous and operating at high density and high frequency.
In the future, the two companies will continue to support drone services by companies and local governments with a focus on flight management, aiming to create a prosperous and sustainable society by closing the distance between people, goods and ideas in cities and rural areas through the use of drones as social infrastructure.