Skip to content
MarketScale
‹ Back to IndustriesTransportation

How Local Governments are Integrating UAVs into One of the Nations Busiest Airspaces

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is home to one of the busiest airports in the country. Lots of planes in the sky means a massive logistical headache for integrating drones into the airspace. But everything’s bigger in Texas, even the gumption to find solutions to difficult challenges; now, a coalition of local governments wants to…

This story was produced through MarketScale. See how Transportation teams put it to work with Partner & Channel Enablement.

Share
How Local Governments are Integrating UAVs into One of the Nations Busiest Airspaces

Get featured

Want to get featured in MarketScale Transportation?

Create a free MarketScale workspace and get your company's expertise featured across our Transportation coverage. No credit card, no demo required.

Request an invite

The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is home to one of the busiest airports in the country. Lots of planes in the sky means a massive logistical headache for integrating drones into the airspace. But everything’s bigger in Texas, even the gumption to find solutions to difficult challenges; now, a coalition of local governments wants to take on that UAV airspace challenge for DFW.

Ernest Huffman, founder of the North Central Texas Council of Governments (NCTCOG), created a dedicated voluntary association of local governments to assist in regional planning for all modes of transportation, including the safe integration of UAS operations, from the smaller package delivery drones all the way up to automated air mobility taxis into the busy DFW airspace.

The group is comprised of over 300 members from various levels of government, private aviation and academia.

The group’s founder joined us on MarketScale to discuss how the organization entered into an agreement with NASA, as well as to discuss their plans to launch beyond visual line of sight operations as a part of larger smart city initiatives.

Follow us on social media for the latest updates in B2B!

Twitter – @MarketScale

Facebook – facebook.com/marketscale

LinkedIn – linkedin.com/company/marketscale

Your experts belong here

Every story in MarketScale Transportation starts with a company putting its fleet managers, logistics engineers, and safety leads on the record. Buyers are already reading this topic. The only question is whose experts they find.

Fleet and logistics buyers compare quietly, and your operators become the evidence that settles it.

Get your team featuredSee how it works15 minutes, straight to a calendar.

Follow Transportation Insights

Get new expert content in your inbox.

Transportation: are you visible to AI?

Before they reach out, Transportation buyers ask AI engines which vendors to trust. See how AI describes your company today, and where competitors show up instead.

Free workspace

You just read one Transportation expert. Your company is full of them.

This article was produced through MarketScale. The same platform turns your fleet managers, logistics engineers, and safety leads into the articles, video, and social content Transportation buyers are searching for. Create a free workspace and see it with your own people. No credit card, no demo required.

NPS +73 · 1,000+ creators · 38+ countries

What you get, free

Your own MarketScale Studio workspace
One video edit a month, on us
AI writing, editing, and publishing tools
In-platform coaching to learn the system

More Transportation Insights

BTS Rail Data Change: CP and KCS Charts Retired in Favor of CPKC

BTS Rail Data Change: CP and KCS Charts Retired in Favor of CPKC

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics said on Sept. 8, 2026 that a new interagency working group will develop supply chain data, and confirmed that standalone Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern rail charts will not be updated now that Canadian Pacific Kansas City reports combined data. BTS noted CPKC began weekly reporting on May 10, 2025, following the April 14, 2023 merger.

  • 01CPKC reporting replaced separate CP and KCS charts starting May 10, 2025, with no future updates to the standalone series
  • 02Historical trend analysis spanning the May 2025 changeover requires clear documentation of the data discontinuity to maintain analytical integrity
  • 03BTS organizes freight data into four sections: port data inside and outside the gate, freight movement, and transportation costs and labor demand

Sep 12, 2026

Uber Freight Puts a Number on Trucking's Empty-Mile Problem

Uber Freight Puts a Number on Trucking's Empty-Mile Problem

Uber Freight reported in June 2023 that 20% to 35% of the roughly 175 billion miles trucks drive annually in the U.S. are run empty, according to Transport Topics. Business Insider reported in April 2025 that Uber Freight says its AI-driven routing technology can lower empty-mile rates for its network to between 10% and 15%.

  • 01Uber Freight's June 2023 report, covered by Transport Topics, estimated 20%-35% of the roughly 175 billion annual U.S. truck miles run empty.
  • 02Uber Freight also estimated drivers may spend about 3.5 billion hours a year driving empty, per Transport Topics.
  • 03Business Insider reported in April 2025 that Uber Freight CEO Lior Ron said the company's routing technology can reduce empty miles to as low as 10% within its network.

Sep 12, 2026

DAT Acquires Payments Firm Outgo to Speed Carrier Pay

DAT Acquires Payments Firm Outgo to Speed Carrier Pay

DAT Freight & Analytics acquired factoring and payments company Outgo, according to FreightWaves, which did not disclose deal terms. Separately, GoodShip announced in August 2024, via Business Wire, that it was integrating DAT iQ rate data into its freight procurement platform.

  • 01DAT says carriers using Outgo within DAT One can be paid within hours, in some cases 15 minutes, versus payment delays FreightWaves says historically ran weeks.
  • 02DAT iQ pricing models are trained on $150 billion in annual market transactions from over 1,300 shippers and brokers, updated daily.
  • 03DAT describes itself as operating North America's largest truckload freight marketplace, with sources citing between 249 million and more than 400 million annual freight matches.

Sep 12, 2026

Explore More Transportation Insights

Read more expert perspectives from across Transportation.

Browse Transportation Hub

For B2B teams

Your experts could be publishing here

Stories like this one run on content MarketScale captures from real practitioners. See how your team's expertise becomes coverage in Transportation and beyond.

Book a 15-minute demo

Or call us. No forms required. We pick up. 214-945-2512