The Louisiana Advanced Aviation and Drone Advisory committee met on Sept. 25 to discuss new guidelines from the Federal Aviation Administration in relation to infrastructure for vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, or, vertiports. The committee has requested $3 million in funding from the Department of Transportation and Development for vertiports. The committee created three subcommittees, including one for public safety, one for counter-drones and one for advanced air mobility, so that the committee may hear from subject matter experts. The committee also agreed to consider economic development as part of the mobility subcommittee. Since 2021, the committee has been working to regulate and promote the burgeoning industry of drones, which are being utilized by law enforcement and the construction and agriculture industries. “I’m proud to say that we’re far out in front of some other states, when it comes to getting ready [for the drone industry],” committee vice chairman George Rey said. Rey is the president of business consulting firm COTS Technology LLC in Gretna and does drone-related photography for real estate and other applications In the 2024 legislative session, lawmakers passed Act 316 to include vertiports under the responsibilities of the Louisiana Office of Multimodal Commerce. The act also establishes the Louisiana Vertiport Development Fund, which will be administered by the DOTD to finance the development of vertiports across the state, with funding sourced from legislative appropriations, grants, and donations. Currently, the FAA only has jurisdiction up to 12 miles of the U.S. coast. “If we want to fly large unmanned aircraft out there, we’ve got to get the FAA and [International Civil Aviation Organization] to move forward a lot faster than they are now talking about,” said Rey. “They’re looking at four years out, and we’re trying to put together a program that would do it, a designated airspace in the Gulf of Mexico, much sooner.” Rey mentioned recent regulatory requirements for electronic drones to fit codes from the Fire Marshal’s office on developing safe vertiports. According to the committee, lithium-ion batteries pose a danger, particularly in the case of roof-based vertiports. “A worst case scenario, a lithium-ion battery thermal runaway and fire. If it’s at a ground-based vertiport, that’s one thing. But what do you do if it’s on a roof?” Rey cited the Fire Marshal’s Office’s guidance to the committee via a slide. The current standard for vertiports and heliports is the National Fire Protection Association code 418. Recently, the House Committee on Fire Protection/Construction Code Task Force met to establish a consistent fire code for residential and commercial construction, though vertiports and the drone industry were not discussed.