We are happy to welcome US aviation technology pioneer Aerolane into the Accelerate Estonia program!
Aerolane has developed a novel cargo transport solution, which allows one cargo aircraft to tow another. This transport model offers significant fuel savings, lower emissions, and increased cargo capacities.
As this is a completely unprecedented aviation concept that is currently unregulated, and therefore technically illegal to operate, Aerolane turned to Accelerate Estonia to help them navigate the regulatory gap and bring this novel technology to the European market.
Aerolane’s technology delivers an average of 44% fuel savings and slashes airline cargo transport costs by 28-35%, increasing cargo capacity and mission range without doubling crew requirements or fuel burn.
The regulatory challenge
Currently, glider regulations in Europe are strictly limited to recreational leisure aircraft under 850 kg; commercial cargo towing is completely unregulated. Although aviation is regulated at the European Union level and Estonia cannot change the regulations independently, we can drive European-wide regulatory reform by acting as the primary testbed for this novel aviation service.
In April, Aerolane initiated a collaboration with the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to map out a permanent regulatory framework for this novel aviation model.