Vilnius opens a drone-training space

The Lithuanian capital recognizes the increasing importance of these flying devices in many spheres of life

The City of Vilnius announced that it has established a dedicated space for practising drone flying. The drone-training space, as it has been dubbed, is located in the Šeškinė hills and is open to both professionals and amateurs, free of charge.

Although private drones are controversial and their usage has been curtailed or banned in many locations around the world, the Vilnius authorities see the proliferation of these devices in a different light.

"Drones play an extremely important role in defence, so we want to contribute to the development of the drone ecosystem in Vilnius. The possibilities of their use are also rapidly expanding in other areas: from leisure to infrastructure maintenance or environmental monitoring,” says Vilnius Mayor Valdas Benkunskas.

The location of the space in the Šeškinė hills is thus not random as this area, located to the northwest of the city has traditionally served as a natural defence barrier.

Terms of use of the drone-training area

As it was mentioned above, usage of the drone-training space is free, however, users will have to register first. The space is open daily from 7 am to 8 pm.

The area itself is divided into three sections: general, sports and freestyle. The common area can be used by all drone pilots, the sports section is intended for competitions, and the freestyle area can be used by advanced pilots.

In that way, Vilnius is taking a stance that promotes professional, skilled and qualified use of drones among the urban residents.

The territory of the drone-training area (90 acres) is marked by warning signs and video surveillance cameras have been installed for track maintenance. The entire space is surrounded by a net and the different sections are separated.