Sorry to see the news that Altitude Angel has appointed administrators today: Administrators of Altitude Angel Ltd
Their Drone Assist app and DroneSafetyMap.com are the industry standards for checking flight restrictions, etc.
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Thatâs a shame. I hope they can put together some kind of recovery package as their products are useful !
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I agree. We will be a bit lost without them!
Hi all, those who are signed-up to the CAA Skywise alerts, should have received an email today saying that Altitude Angel (who run Drone Assist) have gone into administration. The key impact initially seems to be that no fly zones will not be up to date or maintained. The text of the email is:
" The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) are aware of Altitude Angel going into administration. Ongoing conversations are taking place on the future of Altitude Angelâs services, including Drone Assist. In the meantime, users should be aware that products will not have the previous levels of manual validation or support. We recommend that you check the NATS AIS website (://www.nats.aero/do-it-online/ais/) and UAS Restriction Zones (://nats-uk.ead-it.com/cms-nats/opencms/en/uas-restriction-zones/) before making any flights."
Sorry, it wonât let me include links, but if you add the âhttpsâ before â:â, youâll get the picture.
Itâs a real shame, but also humbling how dependent many of us have become on the app!
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Thanks for your topic / post and welcome to Dronehub!
I have moved it to the existing âAltitude Angel has entered administrationâ thread.
I wonder if the CAA will take over running the app, or something along those lines.
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Thanks for the move. I did search first, but didnât find the existing thread!
Just watching the Geeksvana live stream about it now.
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Altitude angel has gone to the administrators. So no more charging for access to flight restriction zones. Still I will miss these guys if it is the end. Some are saying itâs a rebranding but other are suggesting itâs the end. Anyway here is the info that we do now so far. Itâs not a lot.
Thanks for making this thread @DronePilot01 I have merged it with the existing thread on the topic.
A company going into administration certainly isnât âa rebrandâ, but maybe someone (the CAA, or another private company) will be able to secure the rights from the administrators and it can continue in a new form.
The question is; if it became a chargeable service, how much would you pay per year for Drone Assist / DroneSafetyMap.com ?
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Please see this thread in which I have just announced that we have added FRZ / AIP data to the FPV UK map.
Weâre developing this rapidly and are very interested to get your suggestions and feedback as we go.
FPV UK Map now shows flight restriction zones - General - Drone Hub
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Do you think remote ID had something to do with this?
Iâm not sure thatâs the case.
(puts on battered business journalist hat)
AA was started in 2014 and funded by a BT incubator which was folded a few years ago.
By 2025 it grew into a $21m dollar company, which is very impressive.
It hasnât had a new funding round since 2023 (not sure why). That could mean that they were caught off guard by relatively sudden regulatory or market changes and just burned through their cash too quickly.
I havenât seen any details of why they werenât making enough money. Iâve seen at least one EU country (Poland) which has gone with a different UTM system (a custom one), and if thatâs indicative of a wider trend, that would be a big setback for them. They were in a lot of other markets apart from the UK and EU and a lot apps used their data. Maybe they were undercharging for use of their maps in an attempt to capture market share? Itâs a common strategy.
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Is a bit odd especially as they starting to make money out of drone assist application process and airports. Still I guess this was peanuts compared to the support they were getting. I i used to watch Richard the CEO of owner of altitude angel and he always seemed happy so this was so unexpected.
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