As we set a course for the new year, we thought it was a good time to reflect on our most popular web content for 2016; it gives us the chance to look again not just at the blog, but also our popular Discover features and the Drone Assist app.

We’ve talked before about the opportunities and challenges that the growth in drone use presents. A new report released this week by SESAR and endorsed by the European Commission attempts to quantify the benefits and suggests the drone market place could generate in excess of EUR 10 billion value annually, in nominal terms, by 2035 and over EUR 15 billion annually by 2050.

Drone technology is here to stay. There’s no point denying it. But there’s also no point denying the new flight safety challenges this new technology has brought about.

The use of unmanned technology is not entirely new however the availability and affordability have improved significantly. This is beginning to revolutionise aspects of industry previously limited in its use of aerial services due to the high costs involved with running fixed wing and rotary aircraft.

Education is key to the safe integration of drones in civil airspace, according to the UK Civil Aviation Authority’s Assistant Director of Communications.

We need a balanced, cross-border approach to regulating the growing drone industry, argues the author of the European Parliament’s report on the safe use of drones in civil airspace.

The UK should be leading on drone safety and how to integrate new technologies not just looking for ways to swat drones and UAVs from the skies. Compared with a nation like the US, the UK is better placed to establish itself as a model with its single aviation authority and standard set of rules for one area of jurisdiction.

The Royal Aeronautical Society’s conference on Unmanned Aircraft Systems will discuss what is undoubtedly one of the biggest but most exciting opportunities and challenges facing the aviation and air traffic management industry today, drones and their safe integration.

Drones can go where it might be impossible, dangerous or too costly to send people, and there are some fascinating examples across the emergency services of where they are making a very practical difference and even helping to save lives.

There are a lot of resources out there to help drone pilots to stay safe and on the right side of the law, but with the huge growth in drone flying it’s still a concern that the number of incident is on the rise.