The Provincial Council of Jaén has awarded a grant to our ATLAS Alpha centre in Villacarrillo to obtain the LUC Certificate (Light UAS Certificate), a certification that will enable ATLAS to independently assess the risks of its operations, allowing UAS operators to carry out flight campaigns at our facilities without the need for prior authorisation from the Aviation Safety Agency (AESA), thus streamlining processes and saving time.
The grant is worth €30,000 and is part of the “Call for Grants for Technology Centres in the Province of Jaén to contribute to the competitiveness of different economic sectors, within the framework of the “Employment and Business Plan for the Province of Jaén, 2025”, which aims to contribute to improving the competitiveness of companies, the generation and development of technology, its dissemination and transfer, and the implementation of innovative activities.
The aim of the LUC certification project is to provide our facilities with a tool that will help us continue to offer excellent services to national and international companies in the sector, significantly reducing the time it takes to obtain flight permits (from months to weeks) and improving the safety level of operations.
All of this will be carried out under the umbrella of safety, as this certificate is valid in all Member States of the European Union and specialises in providing safety measures and ongoing training for the centre’s staff.
Once the LUC has been obtained, AESA will grant ATLAS a series of privileges, allowing it to begin operations in the Specific Category (medium-risk operations that cannot be carried out in the Open Category) without the need for operational authorisation from the Agency.
This milestone will have a positive impact on our centre’s activity, representing a qualitative leap in obtaining permits and, in turn, benefiting the economy of the province of Jaén, as it will attract new national and international companies to carry out their UAS operations at ATLAS.
